Disturbed Awakenings
by Krikoris
Summary: This is about a girl who is sold into Midnight and is bought by Jaguar after she is beaten by her first owner Adrian. Then she meets Eric and another vampire. Now she has chosen whom to love, but will the other stand to watch it happen?..COMPLETE! *Sob*
1. Chapter one

***Alright, I dont own any of Amelia's characters. Duh, if they are hers, then they arent mine, are they? Adrian and Nada are mine though silly. *hums the new T.a.T.u song "all the things she said", catches herself and stops* I admit that Nada is somewhat like me, we both love Elijah Wood! So I guess she is based on what I want to be. Lucia is definetly my best friend Neveada, power to her! Alright, go easy on me because this is my first AAR fanfic, but hit me hard with criticism and email me at OoCelestialo0@aol.com for questions about stuff, I doubt that you have any questions but just incase, its up there.***  
  
  
  
"Get up." His evil voice echoed in my ears; one of the parts of my body which wasnt bleeding. He had kissed me, fed from me, and beaten me, all which he thought could break me. He never met a Tanata before. I had to catch myself before I said 'bite me', which was my normal response. But Adrian, being a vampire of Midnight, would take my offer seriously.  
  
When I didn't instantly respond, he gripped some of my maroon colored hair into his fists and pulled my head up so that my dirt brown eyes met his eternally black orbs. Gorgeous was the first word that came to my mind when I had first met him. I mean, I'm no expert, but a guy with cornsilk blue hair and black eyes was just about as cute as you could get. Except for Elijah Wood, I corrected myself quickly as I spit in his face, he is short but sweet!  
  
"Eat me." I whispered hoarsely through my puffy lips, which were that way no thanks to this leech. Vampire, I corrected myself yet again. Mum had called them leeches but never right out infront of one.  
  
What he did next surprised me, he let go of my hair and straightened up to his full height of 6'3, which gave me a perfect view of his extremely good looking bare chest. Then I remembered why I was here. He had had me stolen from my town. Illegal I think it is actually, considering that I had to sit in a car for two days to get to this place, somewhere in Midnight. "Nada," his silky voice mocked, the meaning of my name obvious in the way he said it.  
  
I made sure that my eyes never left his. Being sold against my will by my step father, note the word step, not my real father, having to sit in a car with an intimidating shapeshifter, and being beaten did not soften my usual stubborness. "You know what your name means in Spanish?" Adrian continued slyly as a continued to glare at him. "It means nothing, which you are worth in this place. Nada Tanata, how a funny sounding name." Now, I'm not Spanish (believe me I checked) and I'm not stupid (high honors since 7th grade thank you!) so I already knew what my names means. My step father told me several times when he would get drunk. "And your so young, like Jaguar's pet Eric." I guess 15 is sorta young in a place like this, when vampires can be as old as time.  
  
Once again, I find his cold steel hands, but this time they are pinning me to the floor. "You are so beautiful," he tells me, which I dont know why because you can barely tell that I have an average tan and several freckles with all the blood on my face. Playfully he nibbles my ear and I wince when I feel blood filling my ear. Damn, and no Q-tips.  
  
"Get off me." Normally I wouldnt even think about saying that to anyone. In school I am-was, I guess- a very quiet girl who had a very small circle of friends. Only then do I realize that he has slid a hand up my tattered baggy green t-shirt -my favorite I must add- and was halfway of my body.  
  
"With Jeshikah's blood in my veins, I can do what I please in this place."  
  
"No, actually, you can't." Came a voice from across the room. The voice was silky smooth and I instantly knew it was a vampire. After that, I praised myself on how I could pick out vampires on my first try with only my first day here. Infact, it was the first time I had ever seen a vampire, or one that I knew was a vampire. Confusing myself, I took advantage of the distraction and jerked away from Adrian's grip, then scuddled back a few feet so that I could safely get a good look of the newcomer.  
  
Tan skin, barechested, long black mane. The shapeshifter had told me about Jaguar continuously as we had droven from my homestate of Ohio to this place. I really didnt know where this place is, state wise. Now, if I had heard the shifter correctly, Adrian was Jaguar's blood brother. Blood was the only thing that they share, the shifter joked the first night, when I was still crying. "I should of known," Adrian growled as he came over to me in a swift movement and had me once again by my hair. Surprisingly enough, I saw Jaguar flinch when I whimpered involuntarily. I'm no whimp, but it felt as if my hair was going to be ripped from its folicles. "You always had a taste for the stubborn ones."  
  
If that was supposed to offend Jaguar, then it must of surprised Adrian when Jaguar laughed; its richness sending chills down my spine. "If I remember correctly, so does Gabriel." I had no idea who Gabriel was, but I was glad that he liked humans like me. On the other hand, considering that I couldnt see out of my left eye because of this leech, I wondered what would of happened to me if Jaguar hadnt saved my neck, or whats left of it.  
  
"Jeshikah won't be happy with this Jaguar," Adrian growled as he tossed me a few feet infront of Jaguar after a few minutes of silence. "Turquoise was near the last straw, but a 15 year old fat girl? That will throw her over the edge." Ok, the fat comment hurt. I wasnt skinny but wasnt the fattest thing on the planet either. Or at least what of the world i had seen. "She cant even defend herself against the simplist things."  
  
"And neither could Eric," Jaguar countered as he kneeled down to help me up. To my surprise, Adrian growled and left, saying nothing more. Jaguar's warm touch made me flinch, but he didnt seem to notice. When I was standing up, or in the position of standing since I couldnt really hold myself up on my own. "I wonder what possesed him to steal a girl with no knowledge of our world from several states away..." He seemed to be talking to himself, either assuming that I was deaf or that I was in too much pain to really listen.  
  
"I was hoping you could answer that," I must have shocked him or something because his black eyes were on me now. I really didnt like dead things looking at me.  
  
"Most humans dont survive Adrian's introduction," Jaguar told me with amusement in his voice as he lifted me up, cradling me in his arms like a small child, which surprised me because I wasnt exactly a feather. Only then did I remember that he wasnt human and so I tensed up. "We should get you cleaned up," he said as he began carrying me down a hallway.  
  
"Jaguar," I heard a young woman gasp as we walked into a large room, similar to the one I was just in.  
  
"Don't Jaguar me Turquoise," he replied as he set me down in a giant tub, then flipped on the hot water. "Get Eric to find some clothes to fit this girl, then you clean her wounds. I need to buy this girl from Adrian."  
  
"Why would Adrian..."  
  
"The water is a bit hot," I gasped as the near boiling water hit my wounds. Instantly the woman bent down and turned it down.  
  
"She's human." The woman said bluntly as I watched my blood mix with the water, beautiful red swirls mixing with each other until all the water turned red.  
  
"I sure hope so," I heard myself say with sarcasm before my world went black. 


	2. Chapter two

Note: Alright I got.....more reviews than usual so it made me feel good. Cocky is what I am now. lol You dont get to meet Lucia in this chapter, but the next chapter you will. Do ya'll think I am doing a good job with the AAR's characters? You meet Turquoise in this chapter, so if you review tell me if I did a good job getting into other people's chars? Anywhoz, I own Nada and Adrian (you'll learn more about their histories later) and the rest are AAR's. I wish I owned maybe Jager.....*quiver* and no sorry, I havent married Elijah Wood yet. Thank you to gothendergirl666, Saki, and Nevaeda for reviewing this. Also thanks to becca the crazo for informing me of a slight mishap in my story. I redid this chapter just to fix up the problem, thanks again girl!  
  
  
  
  
  
***Chapter two***  
  
  
  
I had fallen asleep, alright, I had passed out in a bathtub, bleeding, wearing tattered clothes. And not to my surprise, giving attitude to someone who I did not know. How typical of me. And now I opened my eyes to see myself in a large room with me in a four poster bed and a closet across from me. Nervously, I peered down at myself and blushed when I noticed that I was now wearing a pear of grey sweatpants and a grey sweater; definitely NOT what I had passed out in. Oh great, I thought to myself, the first thing that sees me naked is dead, really old but hott.  
  
Once I got my act together, well most of it, I checked out the bandages that I had been decorated with. The biggest one had to be the one on my neck and the smallest one on my ear. A small band-aid covered a small spot on my scalp where hair had been, and I wasn't surprised in the least bit. Adrian had pulled pretty hard.  
  
Noticing a mirror on another wall, I grimaced as I saw the purple blossoming around my left eye. How attractive, I sarcastically thought as I found a brush and ran it through my hair. To my shock, it was shiny and silky, completely unlike how it usually is. Whoever washed my hair...I would need to ask how they do that. My skin smelled like ripe pears, which happened to be my favorite fruit. I smiled until I figured out how they knew what my favorite fruit was. Once I did, it faded and I stared at my self in the mirror. My reflection told me how I really felt rather than the feelings I was trying to show.  
  
You're scared, my reflection told me as I continued brushing my hair. You want to go home, you want to wake up and this be a dream. Nada, you are terrified.  
  
"I have nothing back there," I told my reflection, who seemed to be brushing her hair with a different brush, but I wasn't sure. "I was named Nada for a reason." My own comment hurt, but I forced my brush down and made myself look away from my reflection. I haven't even been gone from home for a week and already I was talking to my reflection.  
  
"I see you are awake." Oh shit, I thought to myself as I heard a familiar voice come from my bed. Slowly I turned around to see a young woman sitting down on it, her face unreadable. Just by her voice I could tell that she was human, but she didn't seem to be very happy. Had I cursed in my sleep? I hope my religion didn't offend them, but how would they know? Oh yeah, I kicked myself mentally, they know just like they know what your favorite fruit is.  
  
"Is that a bad thing?" Even though I said it with a bit of an attitude, I really meant it. Had it been better if I had died in my sleep? Nervously I pulled at the long sleeves of the sweater I was wearing and my bare feet finally seemed to realize how cold the marble floor was.  
  
"No. If Jaguar hadn't bought you it would have, but Adrian gave in just an hour or so ago." Two young men came into my head and I mentally matched names with faces. Once I seemed to pass that level of Mental Memory, I moved up to three names, and one picture, the picture of the woman sitting on my-the-bed.  
  
"You're Turquoise." The way I said it left no room for questioning, because I was positive that she was. She didn't look like a Turquoise though, more of a Catherine, or had looked like one. If she didn't look so deadly serious and wore a nice little pink dress, I could see a Catherine. But as she was now, Turquoise would have to do.  
  
"Yes, that is me." A small smile crossed her lips before she returned to her serious state. "Now that you are Jaguar's property, I need to set the rules down." Instantly, my mind blocked her out as she continued. I, Nada Tanata, was owned by a vampire who I had not even seen for more than 10 minutes. The thought of being called property was scary enough to send tears to my eyes. Human rights ran through my mind and I was going to try to say something, but then I realized that vampires didn't care.  
  
"Do you understand the rules?" Turquoise caught me off guard and I stared at her blankly. Sighing, she shook her head before she repeated them to me like I was a small child. "You can call Jaguar by his name unless you are around other vampires, in which then you should say nothing. If you must say something, call him Master or something cheezy like that. As for exploration, you can go into any room that isn't locked, and if the door is locked, you aren't welcome." A clip of a cheezy movie flashed through my head: a girl used a hair pin to unlock a door, but I made myself focus on the rules. "Finally, you obey what Jaguar says unless you can give him a reason not to. Got it NOW?"  
  
"Yeah," I muttered. Being thought of as property had knocked out some of my spunk and somehow Turquoise began empathetic.  
  
"I know how you feel about this whole thing Nada. I might seem like a bitch- " I had to smirk at that; I wondered if she could read my mind, "but I was taken from my family when I was 18. If I'm correct you are 14, so you are taken about four years before me. Now," she looked at me and she seemed sad. "My family, my little brother, was killed by my former owner. I had nothing to go home to. Luckily enough, I killed him a year ago. For you, it's a bit different. You were sold into Midnight, although I never heard of a human being sold by a family member that wasn't of blood. Your step father sold you to Adrian for no more it cost to buy that pillowcase." I winced at the thought that my mother didn't defend me. "Jaguar was sold to Jeshickah for about as much as it costs to buy a bottle of whiskey. He is a shapeshifter, or was. He is the leader of Midnight, and ironically, the most tolerant of our kind. Rarely are you beaten because of him. He knows what its like to be sold without an argument, and then beaten. The thing is, he was changed and you are younger than he was."  
  
"You think I'm going to become a vampire?"  
  
"Doubtful. Eric has been here for a long time and he is still alive and kicking." Match for Mental Memory. One name left until I go to level 3, where I match these names with pictures and species. Go me.  
  
"And who is Jeshickah?" When I saw Turquoise's eye twitch, I didn't ask again even though she didn't answer.  
  
"I should show you around so you don't run into the wrong hallway and become snack." Quick flashes of pain and fear flashed in front of my eyes, and I noticed that I was remembering Adrian's snack off of me. "Don't worry, they won't kill you. They don't hurt you as much as Adrian. No one does really. Right behind Daryl was Adrian on the chart." Damn, who was Daryl? "Now that I took care of HIM, Adrian is about the worst male vampire in Midnight. He is very nontolerant of us." Whew, Daryl is dead, Turquoise took care of him. I would have hated to meet Daryl and this Jeshickah girl in the same room. Glad that's not happening soon.  
  
"Yeah, I need a tour." Tucking some of my maroon hair behind my ear, I noticed how shiny her hair was. "Hey, how do you get your hair like that?"  
  
***  
  
How ya'll like it? I had to end it somehow because I just did. Please review...PLEASE!! But criticize much! 


	3. Chapter three

***Chapter 3***  
  
  
  
Ok, I did somewhat expect a huge mansion, but when I actually got a good look at my new "home", I was speechless. Maybe it was because I have never been in a small mansion before, ok ok I never saw a mansion period, so this did shock me. Luckily Turquoise noticed and didn't ask me to comment. "Alright," she touched my shoulder as she said this in order to get my attention, which it did. I hadn't expected such a gentle touch from someone who had been a mercenary. Yes, she had to talk about something didn't she through this huge maze in order to catch my attention? It worked. "This is the wing where Jaguar's guests stay." Giving me a stern look, she continued. "Unless you want to be snack, you stay out of there. Of course you could be fed off anywhere, but I hope they notice that you are too young to be a blood donor." A small smirk played across her pale lips and I nodded in response.  
  
"Turquoise, showing her around are you?" The voice made us both turn around and the smile that had begun forming on Turquoise's lips faded. A few feet in front of us was a young woman about the same age as Turquoise, with burgundy hair and a stern face. Quickly thinking, I added her picture to the Mental Memory index, knowing that Turquoise would have to address her by her name sometime.  
  
"Yes Ravyn I am." Turning to me, she added. "Her name is Nada. Nada, meet Ravyn. Ravyn meet Nada."  
  
"Hmph," was Ravyn's instant response before she looked me over. I guess she acted before the thought, or did she think before she acted? I don't really know, but she smirked when her burgundy eyes met my dirt brown ones "A little normal isn't she?" It took me awhile to comprehend that but when I did I blushed with embarrassment. Turquoise and Ravyn were very beautiful which would explain why their owners had chosen them. But what about me? Why had Adrian wanted me?  
  
"It's Adrian's taste; he doesn't like his slaves drawing attention to themselves." My eyes broke away from Ravyn's finally and looked at the intricate patterns that designed the marble. I admit I am completely average, or even below average. I was just glad that Jaguar had bought me. I had been with Adrian for two hours and was almost beaten to death, but Jaguar had intervened and bought me. I wonder how many slaves Jaguar had gotten this way.  
  
"Right. Well Jaguar is out of his meeting with Gabriel." It seemed that that had been her whole reason to coming, so Ravyn nodded once to Turquoise before turning on her heel and leaving.  
  
"Hmm well I need to go and discuss some issues with some administrators from New Mayhem." Seeing my confused look, she added, "Another vampire city. They don't have slaves. We are trying to get a treaty of mutual peace with them." The name New Mayhem hit my nerves and I know I had heard of it before. But where? Slowly I nodded.  
  
"Where am I going to go then?" My voice had become less hoarse and it had returned to its slightly low tone. The tone always made me older, or that was what my friend had said, who had a rather high pitch voice, much like everyone else back home. The people that made fun of me said I sounded and looked like a hippo. My attitude dampened some more as I remembered.  
  
"A shapeshifter guard is going to show you around more. I would let Eric show you around but you know, he is busy working out in the garden." Actually I didn't know but I nodded again. Just as I did, a girl about a year or two older than me walked down the hallway. With a olive complexion and long deep brown hair, she reminded me of an Egyptian, but then it came to me that she could be Egyptian, with all the slaves origins it wouldn't really surprise me. Her navy blue hip huggers and her black tanktop showed off her flat stomach and a shimmering navel piercing.  
  
"Hola Turquoise," she said with a smooth silky voice, a voice that sounded just like a vampire's. I tensed up instantly, but Turquoise squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.  
  
"Hola Lucia," Turquoise nudged me a bit forward. "Se llama es Nada." Lucia smiled and nodded at me, and when I saw that her eyes were an amethyst color, not black, I relaxed. She wasn't a vampire.  
  
"Hola Nada, me llama es Lucia." I didn't take much Spanish. Well I would be if I hadn't been taken from home. Spanish was my third period class, and we were just introduced to adjectives. I barely knew any different language, and I became nervous. What if Lucia asked me a question?  
  
"Cual es tu direcion?" My eyes widened. Damn thinking.  
  
"Umm no hablo espanol," I muttered as I looked at her. She didn't look Spanish but I never met a Spanish person so I wouldn't know now would I?  
  
"Oh, well then." Lucia spoke English! Praise the Goddess! "I asked you where you lived, and don't worry, I don't always talk in Spanish." She smiled a pearly white smile and I once again felt like dirt. They were all so beautiful and I was the ugly duck of the mansion. Great. Here comes the self esteem boost. Wait, false alarm.  
  
"I don't want to talk about where I live, if that's ok with you." I heard myself tell her, although I wanted to spill out everything. I guess I just didn't want to break down crying like a weakling in front of her. Already it felt as if I knew her all my life.  
  
"That's ok." She sounded sincere and I smiled. Wait a second. Turquoise said a shapeshifter guard was going to show me around. There were shapeshifters too? Oh boy. "Turquoise, Jager is in there waiting for you. Jager and Aubrey's fledgling, Jessica."  
  
"Ash Night?" Turquoise smiled as she saw the look of recognition in my face when she said the name. Ash Night was my favorite fiction writer. I adored her, even though I never saw her. Oh Goddess, hold the phone I thought to myself. Aubrey, Jager? Weren't they....."Yes Nada, Ash Night's books are true." Quickly I thought back to the city Turquoise was going to negotiate with. New Mayhem. Oh crap, no wonder that sounded so familiar!  
  
"Yes, that Jessica. Aubrey didn't want to come since he didn't want to talk to humans, but he sent Ash Night since she might understand human behavior, still." I nodded. That was all I could do. "Well Lucia, show her around a bit, and then get something to eat in about an hour or so. Jaguar rarely sleeps the night away. I don't know why Gabriel insisted that meeting at three in the afternoon, but Jaguar should wake up soon. He wanted to talk to Nada." Patting my head, which I resented, Turquoise turned and left as well.  
  
"So Nada, where do you want to go and see?" I shrugged. I didn't know because I didn't know what was here. My stomach answered for me. Lucia smiled. "You know, I haven't been with you for a long time but I know just by your expressions that you aren't what your name suggests. You are definitely something." Looking up at her, I had to smile. No one had told me that before, not even myself. It felt good to hear that. "Alright, the kitchen it is."  
  
"Lucia, you're a shapeshifter, right?" I must have caught her attention because she stopped and looked at me.  
  
"Yes Nada, I am."  
  
"What can you shapeshift into?" We both started walking again, my barefeet and her graceful walking not making a sound on the marble.  
  
"We'll talk about it over dinner."  
  
"Dinner?!?" Had I slept a day away? "How long was I asleep?"  
  
"Hmm Jaguar kept visiting a room for about four days. And Adrian has been here for five. So I guess about four days. You lost a lot of blood, from what Jaguar told me. You passed out in the bathtub last Thursday. Turquoise took special care of you, Eric bandaged you and I kept watch incase Adrian or Jeshickah decided to pay you a visit. You are the first slave that I have ever met to be taken care of so well." Smiling, she turned a corner and stopped, looking at me. "You are also the only human that I have known to survive Adrian's breaking, let alone not become broken."  
  
"So I guess that's an accomplishment," I sighed as I peeked around the next corner and saw the kitchen. Bacon and eggs reached my nostrils and my stomach jumped for joy. "If this is dinner, why are they cooking breakfast?"  
  
"Nada," Lucia said with a smirk, "Vampires live here."  
  
"Oh," I responded with a stupid grin. Vampires sleep during the day, so when they wake up, it is like breakfast to them. I laughed.  
  
"And yes, your survival is an accomplishment for the humans. Adrian is raged though. He never succeeded in breaking a human, and you're the first living proof." I began feeling a bit embarrassed, so I moved into the kitchen. Who said I wanted to survive it anyway? 


	4. Chapter four

~*~ This is short but sweet. My favorite chapter so far, this one is. Kinda funny, plus, it has my favorite characters in it!!!~*~  
  
***Chapter four***  
  
When I went into the kitchen, I thought about cooks screaming at the other to get things done, people talking to each other as they worked, laughter. But when I walked in, I was shocked. The 15 people in there were silent, not making a sound. Clanking of pans and silverware echoed in my ears where I knew human sounds should be. Scared, I turned and looked back at Lucia for an explanation.  
  
She looked at me with a sad expression, and then made a gesture that looked like she was breaking a stick in half. Then I figured it out and my knees went weak. These people were broken slaves, silent drones. I would have been one if Jaguar hadn't saved me. There was a girl of about 8 in there, carrying plates to the dining room. I must have caught her attention because she looked up at me. Her eyes, a pale blue, did not have a child's sparkle. There were no laughter lines around her lips. Those eyes would have been breathtaking, but they seemed glazed and cold. When she passed me back into the kitchen, I quickly went into the dining room. Big mistake.  
  
About at least 10 vampires sat at a long elegant dining room table, and maybe half of them turned to look at me, including a very attractive black haired green eyed vampire. Oh boy, vampires could have different color eyes. A smirk slipped onto his lips as he looked me over, and I felt exposed. Even though the others looked over me in the same way, it was he that made me want to run. But my legs would turn to jelly if I tried to move.  
  
A low growl caught my ear and I slowly turned my head to see Adrian sitting next to a young woman vampire with black hair, black eyes, and full lips. Both of their eyes were on me too. Adrian was glaring at me like I was an annoying buzzing fly on another side of a force field. It must have shocked them when I glared right back. Hmph, jerk.  
  
I sure hoped that Adrian had to use the bathroom when he stood up. Wait, do dead things use the bathroom? Weird, never thought about it before.  
  
My hope was shattered when he walked over to me, his black eyes narrowed. "Adrian." The green eyed vampire simply said. Well, isn't he the smart one? He knows Adrian's name. But there was a tone in his voice that wasn't right. It was like....he was threatening. Weird.  
  
Surprisingly, Adrian sat back down but he never took his eyes off of me. Thank the Goddess...."Who is she, Adrian?" The girl vampire asked with a smirk as she too looked me over. I swear, they made me feel as if I was a piece of pottery or something.  
  
"Jaguar's," the other vampire answered before Adrian could. No doubt Adrian was going to add something very offensive in along with it.  
  
"Did she ask you Jager?" Adrian growled in the vampire's direction. Hmm Jager. It has a nice ring to it; the ring goes great along with that sexy.....  
  
"Nada, would you like to join us?" I tensed. Who wouldn't? It was Jaguar, here to save my stupid ungraceful tushie. Quickly I looked in his direction. He was supposed to be sleeping. Hey, wasn't Jager and that other....Oh my god! The girl vampire was Ash Night! Woah, go me. Odd how my favorite author is a vampire. Amusing actually.  
  
"No," I answered back with my attitude finding its way into it. Biting my tongue, I remembered I was supposed to act all slavey and stuff. But right now, I didn't want to act like a piece of property in front of Adrian. No WAY.  
  
"A bit spunkier then you're others," Ash told Jaguar with a smirk. Maybe she hadn't noticed that I was still mostly in shock. Maybe the giant bruises didn't give it away, you never know.  
  
This whole thing didn's even seem real anymore. Like that Matrix thing. I just accept what I see because I expect to wake up. Hmm odd. I haven't watched that movie in awhile. Didn't look to me as if I was going to see the second one.  
  
"She's cute," Jager commented his eyes on me again. I shivered. Either because he was looking at me, or because he was LOOKING at me. I don't know. And there is a difference between the two.  
  
"Nada, hmmm," Ash was thinking out loud. "Doesn't that mean-"  
  
"Yes, it does." I snapped at her. The others had a shocked look on their faces. Good. I might seem like a piece of property to some of these vampires, but I can talk back just like any of them.  
  
"Ah, Lucia." Jaguar looked behind me and I did as well to see Lucia white as a sheet. "Seems as if Nada got lost. Could you make sure she gets back to her room?"  
  
"Yes sir," she answered shakily, and then gently pulled on my arm.  
  
"No." Jager stood up and smiled at me. "I'll take her." My eyes widened. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? I heard Adrian groan and practically felt him roll his eyes. Hmm maybe this Jager guy ~I mean vampire~ isn't so bad after all.  
  
"Very well Jager," Ash mused as she sipped something that I sure hoped was cherry fruit punch. "Just be back before Turquoise calls us to order." Next time I looked around, Lucia was gone. Damn, what had I gotten myself into? Looking over at Jager, I walked out of the room. If he wanted to "escort" me back to my room, he had to keep up. 


	5. Chapter five: Mixed perspectives, litera...

~*~ Alright, this chapter is a mix of Nada's pov and Jager's. I had the sudden impulse to do this so here it is. The ** before an entry is Nada and the ~~ is Jager's. If you have any trouble, email me! ~*~  
  
  
  
***  
  
Once again, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into until he actually did catch up with me. I didn't like dead things looking at me as I said before, but this was different. He didn't seem dead, or he didn't seem dead until you couldn't feel his breath on your face or his heart against your ear. Damn, what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. Well now I am. Personally I doubt that I will find any romance in this place, so it's hopeless right? "So, you were Adrian's newest pet were you?" That silky voice caught me off balance and I had to think for a moment to remember that he was talking to ME.  
  
"Was," I responded finally. "But I won't ever be anyone's pet." The way I said it must have been funny because he chuckled. My heart skipped. Why weren't there any LIVING guys like this? Why am I thinking this? Kicking myself mentally I stopped and glared at him. "Something funny?"  
  
~~~  
  
"Maybe," I told her. This girl was so much like Jessica when she was human. Both were put in situations that were rather amusing yet both refuse to give up their simple minded mortal pride. Of course, that pride of Jessica's is what made her as strong as she is. If Jessica hadn't fought, she would be dead. Obviously.  
  
Maybe this girl didn't realize that Jaguar was very skilled at breaking mortals into what he wanted them to be. He never really did it openly like that disgusting Daryl had, but he was always more successful than that now dead dirtball. "Well you know if you want to laugh at something and don't want to tell me about it, keep your mouth shut." Woah. Ms. Attitude Junior. Personally I was close to throttling her but I doubt that Jaguar would appreciate it.  
  
"Is your hair naturally that color?" That question had been nagging me since she stumbled into the dining room less than 10 minutes ago. It looked somewhat red and purple, but her eyes and eyebrows didn't match and so it nagged me. If she was a vampire she could change those too.  
  
"What do you think?" Boy......I'm personally not used to being talked back to by a 14 year old human girl. Jessica I was used to by now, even after she told me that she had a manuscript on me and I tried to take it. There was no way my life can compare to mister "Aubrey".  
  
"I think your hair is supposed to be a dirt brown, like your eyes." Dirt brown is never a flattering color, I admit that. I'm glad that I don't have that color hair. Yuck. No wonder Nada colored it.  
  
"Then why the Hell did you ask?" In a split second, I had her pinned to the wall. My patience and curiosity had snapped.  
  
***  
  
Oops? Oww? Both? I don't know. His icy cold hands were pinning my shoulders and I shivered. He certainly didn't look happy. Maybe I pushed him too hard? Maybe. But I answered like I always did. Did that offend him? Obviously. And now I felt even dumber. I had to look up at him. To my surprise I wondered how old he really was. He looked 18 but you never knew with this kind of thing. "Vampires in New Mayhem don't have slaves like Midnight, did you know that?" What was he trying to do? Quiz me? Or play "mess with the slave's already messed up mind"?  
  
"Yeah. Turquoise told me." That seemed to be the right answer but he didn't loosen his grip. I wish he would. It was beginning to hurt. But I guess that he didn't care.  
  
"Do you know that we vampires at New Mayhem would kill humans like you for looking at us wrong?" Explanation right there. He wasn't used to being sassed at. Poor Jager. Ok, that was me being sarcastic.  
  
"Now I do. Now let go of me so I can go to my room. Some MORTALS have some sleep to get."  
  
~~~  
  
That struck me. I had just warned her about humans like her getting killed for less, and here she was still being like.....her. What was wrong with me? Why did I care? Humans rarely get under my skin.  
  
Confused with myself, I let her go. How odd was it that the Silver line finds two humans that are so suitable for vampirism in a year? I didn't like it. She did seem surprised that I let her go. Good. Maybe she wouldn't realize how confused she made me. Oh shit. Didn't I catch Aubrey acting like this? And looked what happened there. Fala would kill me if I changed a 14 year old girl. But Aubrey and Jessica are different. She knew about our world and wanted to be part of it. Nada certainly didn't know and doesn't seem to want to be in this world.  
  
"Thank you," she growled at me before walking away. This girl certainly didn't embody a perfect vampire like Jessica had. Confused, I was about to return to the dining room when Jessica appeared in front of me.  
  
"Turquoise is looking for you." She smirked when she saw my look of confusion, no doubt knowing that look from Aubrey. I wanted to smack her but didn't. She could be worse than Fala sometimes, I swear. "Don't worry Jager; you can save her for later. Like when she can drive, or actually grow up." That comment made me glare daggers at her but she smiled innocently or as innocently as she could get. Growling, I left and went to go the meeting room. 


	6. Chapter six: Histories peek out from vel...

When I finally got into my room, I was very confused. What game was Jager playing? Was he even playing a game? It sure looked like it. And Adrian, what was his problem? Did he have a stick up his ass or what? Maybe he has a fang ache? Alright that was a cheap joke. But what can I say? Its how my mind works.  
  
Just as I was about to lie down on the comfortable bed, my stomach growled. Damn. No food. Well, you wouldn't pay me to go down there, nope, not at all. Growl. Ok, maybe if you paid me I would go down.  
  
Knock. Damn. I say that a lot don't I? Yeah I do. After about half a minute the door opens anyway, without my permission. Damn door. Well, lucky for me the person behind the door wasn't dead. It was just Lucia. Alright! And she had a tray of food. Sitting up I laughed, on the inside of course. There on the tray was a cup of that red stuff that I saw Ash Night drinking. I got a bit nervous and gave Lucia a weird look. "Red fruit punch," she told me simply and I had to smile. Go me.  
  
"Thanks," I said as I took the tray and set it down on the bed. Hmm this place is definitely a vampire household, or mansion as it is. But I still like fruit punch and spagettios. How sweet of Jaguar, bringing me food like this. Food that I actually know.  
  
"Nada, about the whole dining room thing.." Great I thought to myself. I sense a speech coming on. Come on! It's a rare thing to talk back to dead things and them actually talk back to you about talking back. Hehe that actually made sense on some level of knowledge.  
  
"I'm sorry about that Lucia," I answered truthfully, except for the whole talking back thing. "If I made you look bad, I'm sorry. I just can't not be me because I'm surrounded by things that think that they are better than me." A thought came to me then and I had to frown at it. If Ash Night's books are true, then there are witches, which does make humans kinda low on the strength chart. Curse my thinking.  
  
"It's not that," Lucia assured me as she handed me a napkin. " It's just that you talked back to Jessica and Adrian without much thought. You have to be careful when you say those things. If Jaguar hadn't been there, you could have been in deep." Jager was there, I thought to myself. He wouldn't have let them hurt me. Much, my mind corrected myself. Vampires are still vampires and humans are still humans.  
  
Taking a spoonful of the spagettios, I looked at Lucia really for the first time. There were fine stripes of darker hair on her head, which reminded me of what Risika did in Tiger Tiger. What Risika did period, I corrected myself again. She does exist after all. And Lucia's eyes held something that mine didn't. Wildness, freedom. Infact her eyes didn't look normal period. There was something different about them. Of course, she is a shapeshifter. Which reminds me."What can you shapeshift into?"  
  
"A white Siberian tiger." My jaw dropped. Those creatures were so beautiful, and so endangered. I was jealous. I wanted to shapeshift into something. NO fair. Pooh.  
  
"And why were you so reluctant to tell me earlier?" Taking a sip of my juice, I waited for her answer.Mmmm tasty juice. Kinda weird tasting aftertaste, but Mmm nonetheless  
  
" Jaguar could have heard me. I don't think he would like me to announce it so that all the vampires in his company could have heard it."  
  
"Why would Jaguar care?"  
  
"I don't know, just blood respects blood." Blank. Woah. Hold the phone. Let me think. Blood and blood? Doesn't that mean relatives or something? Or was that blood bondage? Luckily Lucia noticed my confusion so she answered without me really asking. "After he was sold into Midnight by his father, his parents had another kid."  
  
"so.."  
  
"No, I'm not his sister. But his younger brother married out of the species into the white tiger shifters, and so on and on the tree goes until I come out and get sold here. Must have recognized the last name. It is his last name too after all. So he just treats me better because I'm related to him I suppose." Well, that was an interesting story. I'm just glad that she didnt..."So, what about you?" Damn. Caught. "What was your family like?" Swallowing my pride, or some of it (i might have choked if I had swallowed ALL of it), I tried to explain.  
  
"Well, my mom was a Lithuanian immigrant. Personally I dont know where that is, but she came from there. My real dad was British, as white as they come. Well, they met in San Francisco when she was coming off the ship and dad was waiting for someone to come off. Love story right?" I sighed, wondering how it sounded to Lucia's ears.  
  
"Guess not," she answered truthfully. Sipping my drink again, I continued.  
  
"Right. He got her pregnant with me, and THEN tells her that the person he was waiting for at the ship was his fiancé." I acted as calm as I could, which wasn't very calm at all. "He said he would pay for the abortion but mom wanted to keep me. They had this giant fight over it. He didn't want to pay child support and she didn't want to get rid of me. Finally, they agreed that he would name me when I was born, pay the hospital bill and a couple pair of baby clothes, a crib, and couple dozen diapers, and then go to his fiancé. Hmph. He named me Nada. Told my mom that's what he thought of me." By now I was near tears because I thought that I had gotten over it but I guess this was one of those things that never went away.  
  
"Anyway," I continued after I wiped my eyes, making sure not to look at Lucia, "Mom took care of me fine until my step father came along. He knocked her up then married her. Mom had a miscarriage. So basically I'm an only child that wasn't good enough for my real father to be alive." Taking a deep breath, I decided to finish this whole thing so she wouldn't ask questions later. "My step father hated me, and I don't know why but I caught Adrian's eye. He wanted to take me and my mom refused. SHE knew vampires existed. She just didn't decide to tell me. I don't know how I knew that she knew, but the way she glared at Adrian just makes me think now that she knew. Oh, and now my step father refuses the first time but with a bit of Adrian's mind boggling, he got rid of me." For a few seconds I was quiet but then I added. "He hated me so much. Humans are free prey to any vampire, but Adrian bought me. I hate him!"  
  
There was pure silence for about five minutes, but I was glad, I was getting rather tired. My mind was getting fuzzy and I really couldn't think. Slowly I realized what had happened but wasn't quick enough. Lucia took my tray away and was already putting me under the covers. "You..drink...drug-.."  
  
"Jaguar asked me to Nada," she told me with a serious look on her face. I had to laugh because I wondered why the punch had the faintest taste of something in it. Too bad I hadn't thought of that before. "The food was drugged too," she added just as I was thinking about it. Oh boy, I thought about cursing at her, but I fell into a blissful sleep before I could even form the first word.  
  
**Alright, How did you like it? If you want the next chapter, I need 4 reviews, please! That way I can get a good idea at who likes it. Please, the next chapter is about Adrian and I'm itching to put it up so if you want to read it, please review!  
  
May your blood flow freely  
  
Krikoris  
  
"Insanity makes the rivers flow" 


	7. Chapter seven: I don't know this is my f...

** Alright, this chapter is in Adrian's pov. I hate him so much because he is a jerk but this chapter is all about him. It is a point of history in his past mostly. After I figured this about him I somewhat felt bad for him. It takes place in the cells of Midnight and I'm not really sure if I portrayed it right. They don't talk much about them in the book so I did my best. Oh Goddess, here it is**  
  
I woke up with a splitting headache. Just like the day before that and the day before, I corrected as I sat up painfully. Softly I touched my head and felt the top of my head sticky with my blood. Groaning, I looked around my dirty cell. A pair of children lay huddled against each other in the corner and several older kids, about two or three years older than me, lay curled up in the other corner. I was the only one without someone to cuddle with. I wish I had someone, it was cold. But I had been brought back here only a few hours earlier, and slowly I began to doubt that I had fallen asleep. Passing out made more sense. There was no way that I could have fallen asleep with this much pain.  
  
Besides my head throbbing, my whole body ached only about twice as bad. Usually it hurt more but last night I had been lucky. The only thing I had tasted in the past three days was my own blood after my beatings. I never got back in time to get the ridiculously small ration that they gave us. Not true, I corrected myself as I remembered last week I had gotten some food. But I had given my share to the cute little girl that now lay in the corner with her brother. What was her name again? I really can't remember anymore. Infact just the other day I forgot what my name was.  
  
My name is Adrian Fair, I told myself when I had forgotten, but now I really do hate my name. Although my last name did describe me, with my fair blonde hair, pale ice blue eyes, and fair skin, but my life was anything BUT fair.  
  
As I tried to remember how I gotten into this place the vampires call Midnight, the only thing that I could remember was that my parents were killed in the first culling. To eliminate the weak ones, the one trainer had said. I suppose since they were...older, I can't remember how old exactly, they didn't pass the test. My little sister Adrianna was bought by some a vampire about a year ago, my younger brother Aidan was killed. He had broken his leg during a beating and it never healed right. Ainsley, my twin sister, was gone too. She was out of town with some friends when we were taken. I wonder where she is now.  
  
The little girl stirred in the corner and I tried to brush off some blood that had dried on my face during the night. She sat up slowly and looked at me when I winced. Accidentally I had tried to brush off some blood on my neck but noticed too late that there was a cut there. The trainer had cut me and drank from me last night. That was why my head throbbed. Curse those things!  
  
I slammed my fists against the bars, which was rewarded by a guard coming over and smacking me with a huge metal bar. I flew back, black smothering my vision for a moment. Ow. That had woken up some of my cellmates; including the oldest boy whom I called Flare. His hair was so red that it hurt to look at it, or it had when he came in here. Now it was dirty and matted against his head, just like everyone else's. He glared at me when he realized who had been hit. No one talked in here, not when the guards could hear you. What was there to talk about anyway? Many of the people in here had been in the one cell most of their lives. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them didn't know how to talk at all.  
  
"That one." The voice caught everyone's attention, just as it always did. That voice picked who would go and be bought, or culled, or who would stay there. It happened once a month because there could be one newborn every month. If Jeshickah liked one baby, then someone else had to go. Sometimes whole cells were taken out, like mine had a month ago. All except for me of course. My cellmates had been killed because the lady a few cells down had had triplets, and she and her mate were very beautiful people. Which meant that their children would be stunning as well. My cellmates were only ordinary. I was still at loss at how I wasn't taken as well.  
  
The keys to our door jingled in the lock and the two children huddled farther into the corner. I doubted they would be culled. Both of them had silky black hair and sparkling green eyes. Slowly I pushed myself up into a sitting position, going lightheaded at the movement. Flare and his group got a bit jumpy, but relaxed when they saw who they were going after. I was the one that got jumpy. They were going right to me.  
  
Two guards gripped my shoulders and pulled me up so fast that I became nauseas. When I finally got my stomach under control, they had pulled me out of the cell and slammed the doors. The small girl crawled over to the bars, her small hands gripping them. Her green eyes were filled with tears, but she pulled away when another guard smacked her fingers with the same metal bar that he had smacked my head with.  
  
In a quick movement, I elbowed the one guard on my left and slammed my foot down on the right guard's foot. As they were in momentary surprise, I pulled their sticks from their pockets, and then hit both of them in the back of the knees with them. As both crumbled to the ground, I ran down the hallway as fast as I could without throwing up or blacking out. I knew I wasn't going to make it out, but I wasn't going without a fight. Life wasn't going to give me the name Fair and then turn it against me that fast.  
  
Running down the hallway, I passed several more guards and many cells. In at least every cell someone gasped or cheered me on. Just as I turned a corner, a young woman walked out casually and smiled. Oh shit. She was a vampire. And no doubt she wasn't very happy with me. With black hair and black eyes, a sadistic smile and stunning attire, I could only guess who this was. Not many vampires could prance around that confidently. And I only knew of one female vampire that could. Jeshickah.  
  
The name made me stop in my tracks instantly. She was the top vampire around here and I felt my stomach twist. Damn. My name had once again turned against me. Hello Adrian, I heard a smooth confident voice slither across my mind. I wondered how she knew my name, but then I wondered how she could be so calm when a human had tried to escape. Sleep. My mind obeyed instantly and I fell to the floor within a split second. But not before I heard a group of guards come behind me and Jeshickah's voice out loud. "I want him cleaned and put into my room. It will be so thrilling to break this one."  
  
~~~~~ I woke up with a splitting headache. The dream has been haunting me ever since I bought that Nada girl. Perhaps it's Karma smacking me in the face. Maybe it was just that human I had for dinner. Who knows.  
  
The little girl that had watched me all those years ago still seemed to look at me now, but now her eyes seemed to be more upset at what I have become rather than what I was. It was as if she knew that that would happen. Paranoia. Sitting up, I looked over at the human girl I had laying next to me in the bed. I had taken my anger out on her, and for once I felt guilty. She, although bloodied up rather badly, reminded me of the girl in my cell.  
  
The blood I drank earlier suddenly left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Angrily, I slid out of the bed and went into the bathroom, and splashed some water on my face. As I glanced up at the mirror I could barely see my reflection anymore, but I could tell that I had murdered any thought of Adrian Fair. Cornsilk blue had replaced the pale blond and my black eyes devoured any color that had been there. "My name is Adrian. Nothing more, nothing less." I tried convincing myself, but even as I said it I really couldn't believe myself..  
  
A groan came from my bedroom and I turned quickly to see the girl slowly sitting up. I could tell what she felt. Fear, pain, anger. The three feelings that make blood taste better. Slowly, I walked over to the bed. When she saw me coming, her grey eyes widened and I could tell that she really wanted to run, but her body was frozen in fear. The fear that came off of her in waves made me quiver in anticipation. Fear always made me giddy, even when I was human, even when it was my own fear.  
  
I had her tender neck at my lips within a second, and I stroked her blond hair reassuringly as I drank from her. She fell instantly into my mind trap and I continued drinking. The warm blood that slid over my tongue was strengthened by the fear that was still coiled in her small mortal mind.  
  
After a few minutes, I pulled away and dropped her onto the bed. She wasn't dead, but she would be out for awhile. Good, I didn't want to listen to her anyway. Just the thoughts that always cascaded in her mind made me irritable. What was her name again? I don't remember. I rarely remember human's names.  
  
Even from my room I could sense Nada's mind toiling in repressed memories of her past. No doubt like I had just gone through, but she was awake. Maybe Lucia was making her go over her memories. Maybe better, she could be poisoning Nada's food. Doubtful though, I thought sadly as I sighed and pulled on some jeans over my black silk boxers.  
  
Now, the thing with Nada. I don't really know why she had caught my eye but I had been in town at the time and she did. What was it? Oh, she had been reading one of Ash Night's books, the only one really. No...that had been the first day when I had only been remotely interested. Hmm I don't remember. Great, I pulled on a loose blue t-shirt and a pair of socks, hoping that fashion wasn't a huge thing here. I never really was fond of the whole fashion thing. Now this Nada girl is going to be nagging at me for the rest of the night. This was unfair. But life was never really ever fair to me was it? Guess not.  
  
Growling, I slid on my pair of combat boots before slipping some gel into my hair. Never could get my hair to stay. Glancing back at the room on my way out, I remembered the girl on my bed's name. Yvonne. What a weird name.  
  
***  
  
Yeah I know, kinda weird wasn't it? Adrian is a bit of a sadistic sort, but he is cute so I'm like whatever! Anyway, next chapter Nada meets Eric, and that's where the plot finally starts up. O_o the Anticipation is overpowering!! Please review lol 


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, I lied. I was going to have Eric in the chapter but I can't for the love of anything find what he looked like. If anyone knows, email me. This chapter is in Jager's pov. Enjoy*  
  
"I don't know Ash," I said as I looked over the agreement. It was somewhat hard for me to figure out what was a good agreement considering that I was never really interested in politics. They didn't have much politics 3000 years ago.  
  
"What is there NOT to know?" She playfully teased as she took the agreement out of my hands and signed her name. "Basically it says that they don't steal any more humans," she glanced at me with a twinkle in her eye," within a 100 mile radius of our boundary's, even if they are runaways."  
  
"Kinda like the Underground railroad thing with the slaves," I thought aloud when she finished her quick explanation. "Which means if a slave escapes and comes to Ramsa, they can't be touched? Unless they come back by their own free will, right?"  
  
"Exactly" Turquoise replied as she watched me fiddle with the pen in my left hand. I could write with my right hand if I wanted to, but I really didn't feel like it.  
  
"So they'd be safe in Ramsa?" I asked as I put my pen down below Ash's name. If I could bring Nada to Ramsa...Ash seemed to be reading my thoughts, which she couldn't, and smirked.  
  
"Right," the human answered me, her eyebrow arching just slightly. She hadn't been at the dining room so she didn't know very much about Nada, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jaguar had filled her in.  
  
"Sounds good to me," I sighed as I swept my name across the line. Jager. There. I was done. I could go home. I had wanted to leave as soon as possible when I had first came here. The humans called me milord and sick names like that, their eyes never meeting mine. Hmph. What was the fun in that? Spiritless humans didn't taste as good as the ones that had their own thoughts, did what they wanted to. Free will adds a bit more.I cant really describe it in words really.to the blood. A human without free will is like a tiger who had been caged after a beautiful young life frolicking in the giant pastures in Africa. You actually pity the creature, knowing that you still had free will and they did not. Spiritless humans were like robots, and their blood tasted like iron. Yuck.  
  
"Well, it's settled then. We won't leave these certain boundaries and you don't give us a second glance." Turquoise seemed much relieved as soon as my pen left the paper. She had been taken far from Midnight, so it would only make sense that she would strive to make sure other humans like her had less chance of that happening. "You can go about the building if you please, or you can start home. Vampires can't leave the boundaries of Midnight using their minds, incase you haven't noticed." There was no point hiding the small smile that picked at the sides of her lips. She was happy about that.  
  
"Well, I'm tired. All this politic hokie pokie has tired me out." Standing up, Ash walked slowly out of the room, as if she had barely enough strength to do that. I knew where she was going on her way to her room. Her pallor showed that she needed to feed, and both Turquoise and I knew it.  
  
"Nada is being moved to a simpler room," she said almost casually, but I was smart enough to know that she was waiting for a reaction. I tried not to give her one. Of course, if my expression goes from relief to completely unreadable, that is a reaction. Only after I did it did I remember. "She has slept in Jaguar's room for several days, and he doesn't want Eric to get jealous of her." Ah yes, Jaguar's other pet, I remembered. He was only..15, 16 now? He had been 14 when Turquoise had taken care of Daryl. What a scum he was.  
  
"I'm going to bed," I told her simply as I left the room without another word. She had seen that the girl meant something to me even now, after only a few minutes of contact with her. I hated Nada for it. But she intrigued me as well. Oh Aubrey, I thought desperately as I continued down the hallway, what have I gotten myself into?  
  
"Nada Nada Nada.." I heard Jaguar's voice from far down the hallway and I stopped instantly. Was he talking to her? What was he telling her? "You are too much for in here," he continued talking to her although I only heard his footsteps. Only after I turned the corner did I see that he was carrying her. Her hair had been washed again, and now even from the other side of the hallway I saw that her maroon hair color had been washed out. Plain dirt colored hair stuck damply to her head and her eyes were shut. Boy, I thought to myself, Nada was about as plain as they come.  
  
"Oh, Jager." Jaguar saw me looking at her. What did my face give away this time? "Could you open that door right there?" Nudging his head towards the door next to me, I nodded. My hand touched the cold metal of the knob, but something stopped me from turning it.  
  
"I plan on staying here for awhile," I informed him, my hand not turning the knob. He couldn't prevent me from staying, after all, he had invited me to stay for as long as I wished. Nodding, he stopped walking and watched my face carefully. He knew I had told him right then for a reason, but couldn't really place it. Personally I was just about as curious as he was. What was I doing?  
  
An older but still rather young woman came down the hallway and stopped instantly when she caught sight of me. No doubt she could tell that I haven't fed in awhile and from her perspective it no doubt looked as if Jaguar had been feeding off of Nada. "You miss," I heard myself saying as I turned fully to look at her. "Could you have another bed brought into my room?" Behind me, I heard Jaguar's habit of breathing cease.  
  
"Yes milord," she responded and turned quickly back the way she came, gone within a second. Now, I only had to tell Jaguar what I had figured out what I was doing.  
  
"Nada will stay in my room," was what I told him. He did look surprised but the surprise was replaced with a suppressed smile. This was all confusing to me, but he seemed sympathetic. About what? Oh yes, I remembered, he had fallen for a human as well. No, I haven't fallen for a human either, recently. I had changed Fala because I had loved her and I still do, but she could really burn the nerves sometimes.  
  
"Alright, but you will have to have more than just a bed in there," he responded as we headed towards my room. What else would Nada need? I thought to myself. I haven't had to care for a human in quite some time. "Katie, the girl who is getting a bed sent over, should also bring over some other clothes, soap, towels, and shoes."  
  
I nodded simply. All of this reminded me of a time when I was walking through Ramsa and saw a small boy carrying a puppy to a car, and the petstore owner instructing the mother. I felt like the mother. Oh god, I yelled at myself, what am I doing? "She will need to be under constant supervision," Jaguar continued as I opened my door. My room did look quite unlived in, but gorgeously decorated. Wait, I joked with myself, I do unlive in here don't I? "Which means that either you or Ash is going to have to watch her."  
  
"Sounds as if your instructing me on a pet," I commented truthfully as he set Nada down on my bed.  
  
"Until you leave here with her, she is a pet. Humans are pets here, and that is how you shall treat her." I smiled. He wanted me to take her with me. Was she too much? Turquoise and Ravyn had at least remotely listened, I reminded myself.  
  
Nada stirred. I held my breath. Jaguar laughed. "She won't be waking anytime soon," he assured me. "She took enough drugs to knock her out for a week." I bit my tongue against a comment that had formed in my throat. But I guess the second best way to get a human to shut up rather than beat them silent was to drug them. I preferred mind control, but not all vampires are like me.  
  
"Right. Thank you." Luckily, he noticed that my thank you was a signal for him to leave. How amusing it must be for him to be ordered around by another vampire. Maybe I reminded him of Daryl a bit. He had been too cocky, and he didn't respect humans in the least. I guess I did, I admit that without them a vampires life would be hell. It was never really satisfying to feed off other animals.  
  
Once Jaguar had left me and Nada alone, I got somewhat curious. How would she respond to this? Had Jaguar given her to me? I don't really know. Maybe he was trying to. Or maybe he was getting her used to being around vampires so that..NO. I told myself firmly as I sat carefully down on the bed next to Nada's sprawled body. She was so young, only 14 years into a long life and she was here, in this place. I don't remember ~I cant remember, I reminded myself~ being 14 years old. It was hard to even remember being 18, the year I was changed.  
  
Slowly I bushed a strand of hair from her face, and a sickening impulse hit me as my eyes fell to her throat. I could see her blood pulsating in her vein, and I leaned closer to her, fascinated by it. The next thing I knew, I had her head cradled in my lap and my lips at her throat.  
  
I begun to kiss her neck softly, just in order to find the perfect spot. When I did, my fangs extended and I pierced her tender neck. Her hot blood rolled over my tongue and I let myself see flashes of her past : a young Indian looking woman sitting by a lake watching a small girl feed the ducks; the same woman fighting with a man and the little girl huddled in the corner; many more pictures flashed in front of me until one caught my eye and I stopped paying attention to the others. Adrian and the now older Indian looking girl keeping eye contact. She was a very beautiful woman, with silky black hair and gemstone green eyes, like Ash did when she was human, but she was rather tall and her skin was very tan. The way she looked at Adrian was..surprise? That was an odd look to get from a human when we can influence human minds as easily as a human breaths or blinks  
  
"Jager!" A voice caught me completely off guard and I pulled away to see who had caught me. I personally never had seen the boy around before. No, wait, I have. He was working in the garden when we had arrived. How he knew my name somewhat surprised me, but then I realized who he was.  
  
"Hello Eric," I said joyfully as I set Nada down, very carefully I must add, and wiped off some of her blood from my chin. I could taste the drugs that Nada had taken, but they didn't effect me.  
  
"I came here to drop off some extra clothes for Nada. The bed will be assembled in about half an hour." He looked at Nada for a brief moment and an emotion flickered across his face. Jealousy? No. Curiosity. Yes, that is what it was. Of course a boy his age would be curious about a girl around the same age. What amused me was that he seemed not the least bit unnerved by the fact that he had caught me feeding off the person I was in charge of taking care of.  
  
"Well thanks Eric," I responded, and was going to add more but a group of slaves began carrying in pieces of the bed.  
  
"Where do you want it Jager?" the boy asked me. Considering the only place where there was enough space was by the bed that I was sitting on now, I pointed to the empty spot next to me. The slaves began right away.  
  
"Eric, about.." I didn't really feel like apologizing but I didn't want to upset the boy either. Even though he was 16 now, I doubt that he didn't understand vampire nature. Being with vampires 5 years can really teach you something.  
  
"Don't worry about it," he assured me with a blank face. He was about to turn when I caught him looking at Nada again. "When you don't want her to be around, send her to the garden alright? I still haven't gotten any help for out there."  
  
"Will do," I responded as he was already exiting the door. Now, I looked down at Nada, who seemed to be dead. Of course she wasn't dead, I knew that. Sighing, I pulled on new shirt, thinking that the black one I wore would be too melodramatic. Thinking quickly, I figured that grey was a good color. Just as I was about to leave the room, I had the compulsion to turn back and look at Nada.  
  
She was shivering. Damn, I cursed at myself, that is going to be a problem. Before I knew what I was doing, I had lifted Nada up out of the bed and slipped her under the covers. I even had the guts to tuck her in and kiss her cheek.  
  
As I left the room, I knew that I would need to talk to somebody about this. One vampire can kill hundreds of humans, but it took only one 14 year old girl to make that one vampire go insane with feelings that he hadn't felt for many years. Damn her.  
  
***ok ok I did put Eric in a little bit, but I didn't describe him. Its just he found himself in there.*** 


	9. Chapter 9: A new perspective

**this is in Eric's pov. I was beginning to write another chapter but something felt wrong. Eric came out of my computer and screamed "tell my side!" boy, is he bossy or what? Well, I did as he 'asked'. And pow, it was what I was looking for. Thank all of youz for reviewing! and enjoy!***  
  
I saw the girl. She, unlike all the others, sparked my curiosity. Her wounds and bruises had begun to fade already, which was odd in itself. Of course I had seen her before, about a week ago, but now is much different. Before she had simply been a new slave that Jaguar had taken under his wing, or his paw, depending on how you thought about it. And now, only after a few waking hours in this atmosphere, she had caught the eye of one of the strongest vampires of New Mayhem. How did I know how strong he was? Jaguar had asked for the best to come, and so the female vampire and he came.  
  
Politics never really caught my fancy, considering I never really was introduced into them. Being eleven and thrown into slavery wasn't much of an educational experience, some told me. I believe that it was more educational than the stuff I had been learning.  
  
Midnight taught you how to survive, whether human or not. I will not disagree that vampires are superior to humans. We as humans either go with the flow and have a mutual relationship, as Jaguar and I share, or you fight it and get beaten into servitude. Of course not all humans are as lucky as I. Others had accepted the truth and still had been forced to live a life of slavery.  
  
Nada. That was her name. I remember now. A few hours ago she had given lip to Ash Night, or Jessica. I don't really know which name she prefers. Along with Jager and Adrian. She either must be very strong willed or just very stupid, I concluded after I had left Jager and her presence. I doubt that she is stupid though. A stupid human could not have survived Adrian's beating.  
  
I sat down on my simple bed, questioning myself. It had only been a year since Turquoise had killed Daryl. A few months after she did, she moved back here. Nathaniel still stays away from here, even though he is a kind friend to Turquoise. Ravyn still has Gabriel wrapped around her slender finger, and personally I doubt that Gabriel is even aware. I had to laugh at that.  
  
Nada. Her face swirled in front of my eyes and I can't seem to get her out of my head. She looked so peaceful when she slept.  
  
Jager had been feeding off of her. That caused me to clench my fists, but I had to act as if it didn't bother me. Nada did not belong to me therefore I could not argue what he did to her.  
  
Now that the agreement had been signed, runaway slaves could slip into the hundred mile boundary and not be touched by their former masters. New Mayhem vampires on the other hand still did feed off humans in the area and therefore they would not exactly be completely safe. No one ever really is, I reminded myself. Vampires are everywhere: Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Australia.  
  
I remember Jaguar telling me about a vampire that had come in from somewhere in the Middle East, who had brought his own pair of pets. Like Jeshickah, Flare, the vampire, had trained his pets to lick his boots if he ordered them to. All except for one slave. That one slave had caught Jaguar's eye but said nothing. Jaguar didn't remember the slave's name, and not to his own surprise, neither did Flare. Tanata, Flare had simply called her. I doubt that actually means anything in any language, but the name did suit the slave, or Jaguar told me.  
  
"Eric?" My name made me snap my head up to see Turquoise standing in my doorway. I guess I had left the door open. "Hey kid," she said with a playful smirk. Although I am now almost 16 years old and she only a several years older than I, she still called me kid. I suppose I had become like her little brother when I had spent my small amount of time in my old world, although my company was just like here, at home. Turquoise, the mercenary had let her old human friend come over for dinner occasionally, and Nathaniel had called once and awhile.  
  
"Hi," I answered absently, my mind drifting back to Nada. Although far from stunningly beautiful, she was fairly attractive. And if she spends a few more months here, that extra weight will slide off rather quickly.  
  
"Something is bothering you?" Just like Turquoise, I thought tiredly. Although she had phrased it in a question, it was a statement. Her hunter instincts could probably sense my frustration from down the hall.  
  
"Maybe," I joked as I lay back on my bed.  
  
"Nada is supposed to help you with outside once she wakes up again," she informed me after a few moments of eerie silence. Good, I thought to myself, it was about time. Even after Turquoise had come back, she wouldn't help me out there. Not her style, she told me. I actually agree with her. Just as I could never really see Adrian or Jeshickah picking weeds, I couldn't see Turquoise raking leaves.  
  
"She is in Jager's room, sleeping." I informed her as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I exhaled, I heard Turquoise take a sharp intake of air.  
  
"How did she get there?"  
  
"Jager," I answered as if it was the most obvious answer there was, which it probably wasn't far from it. I heard her slam my door in aggravation, no doubt frustrated at why I was being such a boy. Usually I never acted like a 16 year old, but when I'm in deep thinking or confused, I do.  
  
I vaguely remember how Jager had acted in the hallway with Nada. He was toying with her one moment and threatening the next. That ought to show anyone how volatile a vampire's temper can be. Luckily, neither he nor Nada had seen me. Ash Night had though and she gave me a smirk as I continued down the hall after Jager had left in a rage.  
  
Damn it, I cursed to myself. Why am I thinking about her? There are so many other girl slaves, why was this one so different? Was it because she never listened? I don't know, but I don't like how I'm always thinking about her. I should be thinking about other things, like trimming the rose bushes outside tomorrow, or repainting the west wing next week. Oh boy, I grumbled as I curled up into a ball once I slipped under my covers, THAT ought to be joyful.  
  
I dreamt of my family. My mother, father, I barely remember them anymore. How sunny it always seemed, when you never knew what happened after the sun went down. You felt safe in your bed, not knowing. Ignorance is bliss. The less you know, the better you are off.  
  
I do not miss that world. I belong here in the world of the night, where the shadows of the sun do not cast illusions on this world. Midnight is where I belong. 


	10. Chapter 10: an interesting plan

*Alright alright this chapter is really short, just like all my other ones. Lol no really this one is short, but it's really important. It is necessary for the plot. Oh, this is in Lucia's pov. Read and Review please!!*  
  
~*~Chapter 10~*~  
  
I saw Turquoise slam Eric's door and sigh loudly after the echo had softened to quieter than a chuckle in the wing. Eric rarely made anyone really upset, but it was obvious it was one of those rare times after Turquoise ran her fingers through her hair and went up into the west wing, no doubt to visit Jaguar. Or maybe Nada, I thought to myself. She was probably still asleep on the bed, in the same position. After all, I had just drugged her. I did feel guilty for doing it, but I agreed with Jaguar on the fact that Nada had to learn how to keep her mouth shut.  
  
Luckily for her, the New Mayhem negotionators had been there. If they hadn't, Adrian would have beaten her to a bloody pulp. Adrian, although needlessly rude, was smart enough to know not to beat a slave when they are the subject that the other two vampires had been there for.  
  
Now to think about Jager. He certainly was out of character once Nada made her ungraceful entrance. That unnerved me. Maybe he was hungry. Then he said he would walk her to her room. That all but screamed "snack time!!!" However when I had given Nada her food, her neck was untouched, except for the bandage that was a result of Adrian's harsh feeding. Odd.  
  
I never really trusted vampires. They always made me feel uncomfortable, they still do. But considering my several greats of an uncle is one and he saved my life, I decided that I will have to live with them.  
  
"Evening, Lucia," came a voice from behind me. I had to smile. Jessica had a dry sense of humor, and it was easy to tell that she had to bite it back.  
  
"Same to you milady," I answered as I turned around, just in time to see the look of disgust on her face.  
  
"Haha," she managed as she dusted something invisible to me off of her shirt. Maybe it was Adrian, I don't know. I knew she didn't like those titles. Of course, she had mentioned that she wouldn't mind them if they came out of Aubrey or Fala. I don't know who either of these vampires are but I guessed that she had a certain dislike for the vampire named Fala. Jessica still had to work on her 'mask of no emotions' as she called it. When she had said the name Fala, her obsidian eyes betrayed her.  
  
"Where is Jager?" I asked her casually, knowing that she would know what I was actually asking. A smile played at the corners of her mouth as she pretended to think.  
  
"Hmm I believe he is in Jaguar's study, talking. I believe there is a phone in there, spelled of course. It lets vampires send mental messages through the witch's spelled border. Cool huh?" Of course I thought it was cool. I HAD given Jaguar the idea of one.  
  
"Yes, whoever thought of it should be praised." I couldn't hide my smirk, and then added as an attempt to disguise it, "It was about time someone thought it up."  
  
"Right," she replied, watching me with a raised brow. "Anyway, I was looking for you." Hmm I wonder what she wanted ME for.  
  
"Well, it seems like Jager has an eye for your little friend Nada." Her expression changed, and then I knew that she had been practicing her unreadable mask. "As much as I would like to see Fala react to this, let alone the whole Silver line, I do not think that it is a good idea for him to get any closer."  
  
"But Nada-"  
  
"I agree. I doubt that Nada knows what is going on, but it's obvious to us. What I'm proposing is that you help her...." pausing, she bit her lip in attempt to find the right word. It was obvious that she didn't really like what she was doing, but I agreed that it had to be done. There was no way that the vampiric society would accept it easily, and it had to be stopped before it had a chance to grow. "Redirect her interests." Jessica finally finished. Oooh, just what I was thinking.  
  
"You know what Jessica?" I asked with a small smile playing at my lips. "I agree. And you know what else?" The way I phrased it made Jessica take a step towards me.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The answer lies right over in that room." I lifted my tanned finger in the direction of Eric's room. Both of us let our smiles reveal themselves and she came closer and wrapped her arm around my waist. I guess she was a touchy kind of vampire. I had heard that she was completely opposite as a human.  
  
"Let's discuss this solution over a cup of blood in my room." We continued down the hallway and right as we entered her room she added, "Fruit punch might be more tasteful, for you." 


	11. chapter eleven

Alright, this is in Jager's POV. Really has no importance to the plot, and I'm not even sure what is going on myself. Once again, I own Adrian Lucia and Nada. And the phone, of course. Heh.  
  
************  
  
"Are you sure that this things works?" I asked Jaguar as I held the palm sized phone in my left hand. It wasn't a cell phone, it was just very portable. Just as I tossed it in the air and was ready to catch it, his whip snapped out and caught it, then he handed it back to me with a serious look. Man, you should have seen his face when I tossed it. It was like someone told him that he couldn't shape shift into a jaguar.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure." He replied as I examined it carefully. I never used a phone. I never had a use for one, until now.  
  
"How does it work?" Of course this would intrigue any vampire or witch. Ever since the witches had spelled the boundaries of Midnight, no telephone, radio, or vampire signals were able to get in or out. No one had use for a telephone anyway; we could all talk with our minds.  
  
"Well, the witches' boundary was so strong that it took them three straight days to make an invisible whole about the size of my fist in it. This phone uses satellites to transmit your mental messages to the vampire you want. Basically it just redirects you through the whole and then it's done."  
  
"Who came up with the idea?" I instantly had humans checked off the list. Obviously. And I doubted that a vampire wanted it considering that we never agreed with each other, New Mayhem and Midnight.  
  
"Lucia, actually." He told me with a grin that made me suspect that he was upset that he hadn't thought about it. However, he wasn't born into a technical world, as Lucia had.  
  
"Good for her. Now, how does this work?"  
  
For the next twenty minutes, which seemed like eternity, he explained it to me. After it somewhat made sense, I put the phone to my ear and sent a message to Aubrey. 'Aubrey, can you hear me?'  
  
To my surprise, I got an answer. 'Jager. What a surprise. Did Jessica kill somebody important?' I smirked. The phone worked.  
  
'No, not yet.' I answered back.  
  
'Do you have something to ask me?' Hmm I wonder what gave him that idea. Maybe it was the strain in my voice. The voice in my head. Heh, that didn't come out right.  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Something important? Because if it's not important, you could let me finish feeding.' Oops, I winced.  
  
'It's important to me and you are the only one I can trust.' Trust. What a weird word. I hadn't trusted many vampires in my life, completely that is.  
  
'Hmm intriguing. Please do tell.' Slowly, I began explaining what had happened so far, several times rephrasing myself, several times getting interrupted, and several times dropping the phone.  
  
'And after that I decided to ask you for help.' Whew. Relief. Maybe I could get an answer or advice out of him.  
  
'I'll be there next week.' Was his answer before it was obvious that he 'signed off'.  
  
"Did it work?" Jaguar's voice broke my silence. Hmm.  
  
"Do you think that I would stand here for almost an hour staring blankly at a wall with a phone to my ear not speaking if it wasn't working?"  
  
"Guess not," he answered me with a bit of hostility in his voice. Good. Glad he knew to back off.  
  
"Yes, the phone works." With that, I left. I rarely say thank you to anyone or anything.  
  
On my way down to my room, I saw Jessica and Lucia walking into Jessica's room. Girl talk, I thought with disgust, although I personally doubted that Jessica was ever a girl that had 'girl talks'.  
  
I went into one of the lounges to think. Really I went in there to get close to the fire. I like fire. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Adrian did as well. "I heard you have Nada in your room now Jager," he stated even before I could take a few steps into the room.  
  
"What if I do?" I growled in return.  
  
"Well, I really doubt that Jaguar would approve of HIS new pet in YOUR room," Adrian replied with his smile obvious in his voice. I wanted to rip out his heart and make him eat it. I also had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something offensive. Although humans rarely get under my skin, Midnight vampires are a different story.  
  
I refused to let him get to me, so I continued into the room and sat in the armchair closet to the fire, which meant I put my back to Adrian. Vampires do take that as a way of saying 'You aren't worth worrying about. You aren't strong enough to make me not want you at my back. You are weak'. I heard him stand up, heard the growl he was suppressing in his throat. I didn't even flinch as he moved right behind me. I felt his black eyes glaring daggers at me, but he is not worth my time, my energy.  
  
"You have her blood on you." He informed me simply. Maybe he wasn't stupid after all; well, not as stupid as I had thought. Gripping my shirt, he stared at the small dot of blood on my shirt. We vampires can smell blood. If your nose could smell more than 10 times better than a bloodhound, you could too.  
  
My iron grip closed over his hands and squeezed until I heard a satisfying crack. I then let his hand go and he pulled away. Although we heal fast, I am sure he did not appreciate the pain. Although I know that he isn't as weak as Daryl, he is not stronger than me. Not many are. "Damn you Jager," he hissed at me. Now, I was there the day Fala and Aubrey fought about Jessica, and I couldn't resist.  
  
"Already been done," I told him with a wide grin. I had to force myself not to laugh. When Aubrey got here I would have to tell him about this. Even his rare sense of humor would enjoy this.  
  
"Damn you again!" Oh boy, I bit my lip to keep from laughing. If only Aubrey could be here, he would either growl at me for using his responses or smile at my memory.  
  
"Too late," I growled, turning around and glaring at him. "And after 400 years, I'd think you could come up with something better than that." That set him off. He pounced at me and we both ended up on the floor, him on top. Ours eyes locked for a brief second before I hit him with my mind and sent him reeling back.  
  
"Am I interrupting something?" The voice was stern but I could tell that Turquoise was just as humored as I was. Adrian took one look at her and left to his room, and I sat up to see her leaning against the door frame with a dagger in her hand.  
  
"Not anymore," I told her. Then I left as well. Maybe I could go back to my room and get some sleep.  
************  
  
Sorry!! *begs for forgiveness* I hope this wasnt as sucky to you as it was to me! I had to add some humor to the story, I'm sorry!!! 


	12. Chapter twelve:Disturbed Awakening

**Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are back in Nada's POV. Yeah I know, FINALLY she wakes up. Hehe. Eric and Jager belong to Amelia of course. Enjoy!!**  
Over the next week, I was completely out of it. Like, out of it. Major. When I woke up, I was in a place that I certainly hadn't fallen asleep in, in a bed I don't remember being in, and wearing clothes that had not been there before. I sat up a bit too quickly and I went very lightheaded, and then sank back down into the down feather pillow. Something caught my eye and I sat up quickly once more, not caring if I almost passed out. My hair was gone. Like, not there.  
  
With trembling hands, I slid my hands up my face. Mid cheek and no hair there. Middle ear, negative. Just as I touched the top of my ear, I felt the very tip of a strand of hair. Nearly crying out, I put both my hands at the top of my head. My hair had been chopped off so short that it didn't even go past my ears! Slowly I fingered the hair and recognized it as one of those haircuts that punk girls get. Somewhat like a guy's cut, but not so spiky.  
  
I actually didn't mind it so much now that I could picture myself with that kind of hair cut. Then curiously I looked under the covers to see myself in a pair of jeans and a baggy green t-shirt. Oh my! This shirt and these jeans were just like the ones I came in wearing, but newer. And, I thought to myself as I looked my body over, in a smaller size. I guess not eating can do wonders to the body.  
  
Food. Mmmm. My stomach cried out for something to eat. It should, I told myself, and it hadn't had something to eat in a week. Sliding out of the bed, I noticed that there was another bed only four or five feet to my left. And even more to my surprise, there was someone SLEEPING in it.  
  
Oh Goddess, I thought to myself as I crept closer to the bed. I peeked over the bed to catch a glance at who I was sleeping practically next to. "Oh...." I gasped. I lost all coherent thinking. There was NO way that I was sleeping in the same room as Jager! How had I gotten here?  
  
I didn't give myself a chance to try and figure it out. I ran out of the room as fast as I could. The cold marble stung my feet but I didn't stop. I kept on running until I reached the first door on the left in some wing. I don't even really know what wing I was in the first place. I pulled open the door and threw myself in without a second glance in the room.  
  
Closing the door, my back to the room, I took a deep breath. This was getting worse with every room I went into, every step I took. I was getting so confused. After my second deep breath I heard a sound that I refused to hear only half a second ago. Water. Running water. A shower. Oh shit! What room was this?  
  
As soon as I thought that, I heard something worse than running water. The stopping of running water. Then the opening of a curtain. A doorknob. I saw the door on my right open up to reveal a dripping wet young man no older than 17. Thank goodness he was wrapped in a towel. Or at least his bottom half was. He had a very good body, and a rather attractive six pack He saw me and I saw him. I guess both of us went pale, or we did until I blushed. "I'm....."  
  
"That's ok." He assured me. His soft smile made me blush redder. "You're Nada, correct?" Was he a vampire? Oh no, this isn't good. Wait. His eyes weren't black. That's a good sign. And his voice was the awkward teenager tone. I let out a breath. He was human.  
  
"Yeah. Who are you?" My tone came out a bit sharp and I bit my tongue but he didn't seem to mind. There was a mirror behind him and I paled as I saw my reflection. My skin was much paler than it had been when I came here, my hair was very nicely cut, not chopped, and my true hair color showed. Not a very attractive brown.  
  
"Eric," he replied with casualness as he readjusted his towel just a bit. Ah, so this is Eric. "If you let me get dressed, we can go and begin painting the west wing." What? Were we painting something?  
  
"The west wing?"  
  
"Yeah, we two human teenagers are being sent to repaint the west wing. The vamps don't like it so bright. They say that a grey should work for them." The normalness in his voice was unnerving. How long had he been here?  
  
"Ok....um I'll just be out in the hallway." I left before he could get another word out. He was almost too good looking for a human. Glad that there was one more non broken human around here. I would have gone insane. Or have I already gone over the edge? 


	13. Chapter thirteen: Adrian's realization

Alright, once again. The first half is a memory and this is in Adrian's POV. This might actually make some sense to you people who never make sense of anything and might confuse those who always make sense. Hmm yeah.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
What a boring day, I thought to myself as I walked down the street. My cornsilk hair stuck out of my cap and it blew slightly in the wind. Although it was late summer, the cold seemed to creep up on the world. So, I wore a jean jacket so I would fit in, at least a bit more than if I didn't.  
  
Today I decided to go to the local highschool, to observe. Really I should be back at Midnight, doing something important. But I need to go and visit the local zoo. If humans can take a day off to see animals locked up in artificial habitats, then vampires have right to as well.  
  
After a few more minutes thinking silently to myself, I reached the building just in time to see dozens of humans exiting the school and into the courtyard. Lunchtime, I thought bitterly as I saw several kids with lunchbags and apples.  
  
Just for a bit of fun, I moved myself into the courtyard. I always enjoyed making humans jumpy.  
  
Sitting there on the largest branch of a tree, I felt like a human picking out some rats, only to feed them to their pet snake. Only I am the human AND the snake.  
  
I yawned as I stretched across the branch, letting my jean encased legs dangle. Trees make me feel calm. Especially when I'm in a willow tree and the wind blows. No. I had liked that when I was human. Trees are comfortable to lay in, but no more.  
  
"Hey, who's that kid up there?" Turning my head, I looked down to see a red haired girl looking up at me. She was fairly attractive, with fair skin and blue eyes.  
  
"Don't talk to me when I'm reading," someone else answered. The person was out of my view.  
  
"I'm sorry Nada....." the girl replied, her eyes still on me.  
  
" 'Sok," the girl named Nada replied. Her voice was lower than normal girls, or lower than the voices I heard. The tone was even deeper or at least sounded like it because the other girl's voice was high pitched. There was no way I could stand that squeaking for long.  
  
"What book are you reading?" the girl asked, turning away from me. Good. I carefully lowered myself slightly from the tree to look at Nada.  
  
From what I could tell from her, the girl's hair was a maroon color, and her natural deep complexion seemed to make it look natural. The color of her eyes I couldn't tell. They were on the book. The book was a hardcover, it was tattered but it was obvious that it was loved. Not one page was dog- earred, but the cover was faded.  
  
"Why do you always read that book? I mean, Tiger Tiger?" The title caught my ear. That was Ash Night's book. She is supposed to visit Midnight for some kind of treaty along with the vampire Jager.  
  
"Why do you always look at guys?" The girl blushed. I smiled. Good counter.  
  
"Because."  
  
"That's right. You just look at guys and I just read. Nuff said."  
  
"So," the girl said, obviously trying to change the subject. "What did Dieta pack you for lunch?"  
  
"Sandwhich, chips, water," Nada replied as she gestured hopelessly at the brown bag. She sure didnt seem to need the food. She was pudgy.  
  
That name....Dieta.  
***********************************************************************  
  
My eyes shot open and I found myself lying in a chair in one of the few lounges. That name. That was why the woman looked so familiar. She had been the girl in the cell with me. But that cant be right....that was over a hundred years ago.  
  
That strange feeling I had when I had met her. It was like..something was in her aura but I couldnt place it. I know what it is now. A blood bond. She was blood bonded to the vampire. Oh god. I wondered who she was bonded to.  
  
Wait a second..... "Adrian?" I turn my head to see Jessica there standing in the doorway.  
  
"Yes?" I answer as calmly as I could, although deep inside I was unnerved. She smiled confidentely as she sat down by me, even though there was little to no room there.  
  
"You figured out why Nada's mind is partially blocked, didn't you?" Just by her tone I knew that she already had figured it out herself. That pissed me off. I shoved her off of me and stalked out of the room. If she wanted to taunt me like that, fine. But she would have to do it in my room, and when I said she could.  
  
I swear, New Mayhem vampires are so rude.  
  
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I know, I'm sorry this is such a short chapter but next chapter is reaaaaaally long and is a major part in the plot. If I can get 3 reviews for this chapter, the next one will come up. Pleaaaaaaase review!!!!  
  
Krikoris 


	14. Chapter fourteen: Trading Spaces Paintin...

Alright, there are several different POV's here. The ** is Eric's, the ~~~ is Nada's, and the ~*~*~ is Jeshickah's. Yeah, I know! I think she is somewhat out of character but you know, I'm not good at that kind of thing. ^^^ is Lucia, $$$$ is Jager, and !!!!!! is Adrian. OMG I know, so many POV's, so little time! I almost ran out of symbols but I mean...yeah. Enjoy! Thank you to the three reviewers. I really appreciate it! Warning this is a much longer chapter than usual but it didn't make sense to make several chapters on one simple event. Be proud of me and please tell me if I seem a bit out of character, yes, even if I am out for Jager. But he IS in love, or in lust. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, all the chars except for Adrian, Flare, Nada, Lucia, Dieta, Tanata, and hmm I think that is it, belong to my idol, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. No, I don't own Jager yet either. I know, damn.  
*******  
  
She had walked in on me. Nada had seen me in a towel. Only my experience with vampires prevented me from blushing. She had gotten skinnier over the past week. Not eating for a week could do that to some people. I wonder how many times Jager had fed from her...  
  
Pulling my thoughts away from vampires, I grabbed my painting jeans and my holey t-shirt, and then put them on over a pair of crimson red silk boxers. Silk always comforts me. Smirking, I slid on a pair of worn in sneakers before running my fingers through my damp hair and glancing at my reflection in the mirror. I had changed drastically over the past 2 years. I had grown at least 4 inches taller, my body became more toned and my voice had deepened, but not like a bass singer or anything. My face had lost its baby fat and so I looked much more mature than I had.  
  
Quickly remembering that I had a girl waiting for me outside the room, I pulled open the closet and pulled out two rollers, two paintbrushes, two cans of storm grey paint, and some paint containers. As I put it all into a large bag, I thought of asking Nada if she had any paint clothes. Then I remembered that she had no other clothes and so that was a negative.  
  
"Sorry I made you wait," I apologized as I came out of my room, closing my door behind me. I must have caught her attention somehow because she actually looked as if she cared. I forced myself to hide a smile. I could not fall for someone else's property.  
  
"That's ok," she replied as she picked up a paint can and swung back and forth gently. To my surprise I found her voice actually being nice to me. I WILL not fall for someone else's property. "To the den of shadows!" She shrieked playfully before grabbing the bag from me and running down the hallway. My heart sank. I wondered if she knew that was an actual place in New Mayhem. Jessica had told me as a desperate attempt for a civil conversation. She had gotten one from me.  
  
Sighing, I picked up my paint can and followed at a walking pace behind her, I actually wondered if she knew where she was going. Wait, I scolded myself, she has only lived in that wing for the past two weeks. Two weeks. It seemed like an eternity.  
  
"Stupid pest!" I heard someone scream, followed by a loud smack and a thunk. My mind went into overdrive. Dropping the paint can, I ran as fast as I could to the west wing, hoping that Nada was still able to walk.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Stupid pest!" I screamed at the little bug as I smacked her against the wall. She was definitely NOT broken and she was too wild, even for my cat, Jaguar's, taste. I smiled like a kitten with a bowl of cream as I heard a crack echo in the empty hall. Hopefully I had broken something REALLY important.  
  
Something sticky touched my boot and I looked down with pure disgust to see grey paint flooding the beautiful rug that I had hand picked out. Glaring at the girl, I kicked her again, and laughed as I heard a stifled scream pass her bloody lips.  
  
Just as I was going to kick her again, I sensed something that I had missed when she had collided into me. A blood bond. Interesting. Wait a moment.....I slowly swept across the pet's aura and sensed it was only a partial bond. She must be the offspring of one of Midnight's humans. I was about to go into her thoughts when I felt an almost tangible wall blocking me from her thoughts. Damn her.  
  
"Nada!" Turning, I saw Jaguar's spoiled puppy run down the hallway. Luckily for him, he saw me and stumbled onto one knee, his eyes cast down. But as he looked at the floor I saw the concern in his eyes. So this was a mate, aye? I wondered who she belonged to.  
  
"You," I purred at the boy as I took several steps toward him, nearly turning back and kicking the other one again for ruining my boots. "Who does she belong to?" The boy HAD grown well over the past two years, although I had to leave on a little trip to deal with one of my fledglings in Lithuania. Seems as if he JUST realized that he lost one of his slaves, which he figured she had been missing for a good 350 years. Stupid pet. Good thing he had decided to stay in the states. If I remembered correctly, he had been in the same cell as Adrian.  
  
"I, uh, don't honestly know milady." He doesn't HONESTLY know? How could he not know?!?  
  
"Well, poodle, why don't you tell me the story and let me be the judge of who owns her?" Behind me, I heard the girl move, or at least try to. She moaned in pain at every inhale. She should. I broke at least two ribs.  
  
"Milord Jaguar bought her from Master Adrian, and then Sir Jager took her under his care. I'm not sure if the care is permanent or not." Well, a New Mayhem vampire owning a Midnight bonded human? I think not.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
I lay on the sticky floor of the west wing, pain shooting up and down my chest with every breath. How was I supposed to see that bitch? She just popped out of that room without warning. And now I began to wonder who she was. She had nice boots. Or I had thought so until they broke something. Damn boots.  
  
"Well, if she is under Jager's care, then I guess she belongs to him," I heard the vampire tell someone, but I couldn't make out the other voice. My mind was working a little bit like a computer that had downloaded a million things at once and it takes forever just to move the mouse a few centimeters on the screen.  
  
"Yes Milady," the other person replied. Eric! It was Eric, oh god did the vampiress hurt him? If she did I would, wait, I can't do shit! I am lying in a pile of paint. Oh crap, the paint fumes were making my head ache.  
  
"Now, go make Jager put her somewhere until she is at least obedient. And then clean up this mess." After a few minutes, I heard the sickening click of heels fade away down the other hall. Moments later I felt Eric next to me and I opened my eyes to see him kneeing in the paint next to me, his hands hovering above me as if he didn't want to hurt me further.  
  
*****  
  
"Nada," my voice was barely a whisper as I held myself back from touching her. I didn't want to further injure her. I didn't even notice that I was kneeing in paint until Nada slowly looked up at me and actually smiled. She couldn't be hurt that badly if she had the strength to smile.  
  
"Isn't the paint supposed to go on the wall?" She asked me as she tried to sit up, but rather ungracefully fell back down.  
  
"Yeah, but some girl spilled it all over the floor," I joked back and smiled as she laughed, but winced when I saw that she had hurt herself by doing so.  
  
Eric, what the hell? Jaguar's voice asked me. I heard the commotion, what happened?  
  
Jeshickah came back. Nada ran into her, come and help her. After a few seconds of no reply, I added NOW! He must have been shocked by my reaction because he was at my side within seconds.  
  
"Where did she come from?" Jaguar's voice held no comfort for either of us and neither did his black eyes. I didn't care where Jeshickah had come from; I just wanted Jaguar to help Nada!  
  
"How the Hell do I know?" I snapped, frustrated at my own concern. He gave me a look of anger and surprise before picking up Nada in one swift movement. A gasp exploded from Nada and I grimaced as I heard the pain there. Deep inside me, I knew that Nada should be lucky. Jeshickah could do much worse.  
  
"Go and get Turquoise. I have to go and put her in the bathtub, AGAIN." I heard amusement in his voice but I want sure why it was there. Did he enjoy having a human running loose in his Midnight?  
  
"Fine." Standing up, I took one more quick glance at Nada before turning and running as fast as I could to find Turquoise.  
  
^^^^  
  
I looked up from my book to see Eric running down the hallway as if a vampire was chasing him. Curiously, I placed down the Ash Night book and ran out into the hallway. "Eric!" I called to him, and the boy I saw couldn't have been Eric. Eric was a calm, composed, mature young man. Who had turned around had teary eyes, paint soaked pants, and panic so massive that I could sense it from halfway down the hallway.  
  
"Where is Turquoise?" No, this WAS Eric. What had happened? Who died?  
  
"She isn't in the building. She went to town. Why?" Eric ran towards me and gripped my hand fiercely. Wait a moment, Turquoise had sent Nada to help Eric paint. His pants were soaked with paint. My mind instantly went negative. Something had happened to Nada.  
  
"Jeshickah came back." That was all I needed to know. The bitch had hurt my friend. I pulled away from him and began to walk briskly backwards down the hallway.  
  
"Get Turquoise's kit from under her bed and then go to Jaguar's room." Only after he turned to go to Turquoise's room did I turn around so I could sprint down the hallway.  
  
$$$  
  
I had been sleeping perfectly fine until I heard a rather annoying voice shriek out in the hallway. I groaned and covered my head with a pillow. It was too early; no way was I getting up. Oh crap, I sat up groggily and looked over to the vacant bed a few feet away from me. Shit, Nada had woken up while I was sleeping. Damn it damn it damn it. Throwing my blankets off of me, I heard someone walk by, but there were two breathing patterns. And I knew without thinking that Nada had gotten in trouble again. Stupid girl.  
  
Quickly I pulled on clothes, not really caring that my shirt was on backwards before pulling open the door and taking a step out. I heard a squish under my shoes and I looked down to see grey paint oozing there. Good thing I used my worst shoes.  
  
Glancing around the hallway, I saw Jaguar's door close on my right and Lucia running down the hallway on my left. Putting two and two together I walked to Jaguar's door and opened it slowly.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Cold water! Jaguar had put me in a tub of cold water and I realized that I was once again in Jaguar's bedroom. I bet Turquoise spent more time on his bed rather than in the tub... "Nada, look up at me." Almost annoyed, I looked up at Jaguar's clearly disappointed face.  
  
"I'm sorry!" I mumbled as I began to shiver in the tub. My clothes were still on. I couldn't really see them because of the grayish red water, but I felt them clinging to my skin.  
  
"You should be glad that you are still talking," Jaguar scolded me as I felt his hands course over my stomach where the vampiress had kicked me. My eyes went wide and I smacked him instinctively. That hurt! His one hand came out from the water and gripped both of my wrists, then pinned them to the corner of the tub. The movements made me want to kick him.  
  
"She didn't kick so hard," I told him just as Lucia came in. She took one look at me and shook her head slowly. "Who was that anyway?" The two of them exchanged glances. Only then did I 1). Notice the family resemblance and 2.) Remember that they had drugged me. I glared at Lucia and concentrated on the water as if I could make it move with a single whim.  
  
"That was Jeshickah," Jaguar informed me. Oops. Heh. Wrong vampire to collide to into a hallway huh?  
  
"Where is she hurt?" I heard Lucia ask as she kneeled down beside Jaguar by the tub. I looked away from her. I was too angry to speak and felt too betrayed to look at her.  
  
"Right on the ribs. Jeshickah might have broken something." I snorted. "Ok, she did break something."  
  
"Is she going to be ok?" Oh no! I heard another voice that I didn't want to hear. Jager's. If I could not stand to be weak around one person, Jager would be that one person. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to stand up in the tub.  
  
"I'll be FINE," I snapped at him as I actually managed to step out of the bathtub. Three pairs of eyes were on me and I only wanted one on me. And he wasn't even here. Snap out of it girl!  
  
"Nada you don't want to further injure yourself!" Lucia yelled at me as I continued to walk towards the door, fighting back tears of anger and pain.  
  
"Like you CARE about what happens to me!" I growled at her, which seemed to silence her. Good.  
  
"Nada, come back here now." Jaguar's voice seemed threatening enough, but I kept my back to him. Just as I passed Jager, my mind went black. But I was caught by a pair of strong arms before I hit the ground.  
  
!!!!!  
  
Nada. The girl that haunted my dreams was now in my arms. I am not really sure how she got there. How could she just appear out of nowhere? Not just anywhere, I corrected myself as I felt her dripping wet body go limp. For some reason I looked down at my once pet with curiosity. She had lost her longer maroon hair for a short brown hair cut. But she seemed much lighter than before. Interesting.  
  
"Adrian." Arching a brow, I looked up to see Jaguar's surprised gaze, along with the shifters and Jager's. Angry at myself for actually catching the girl, I tossed her over to Jager before making my way down the hallway. I didn't really care if Jager caught her or not.  
  
As I continued down the hallway, I let my mind drift onto what kind of human food would be interesting to eat for the dawn meal. A moment later I found myself shoved past by Jaguar's spoiled pet. That would just not do.  
  
Grabbing the boy by the hair, I pulled him back to meet my eyes.  
  
*****  
  
My hands flew up to his, trying to pry his steel grip from my hair. The kit dropped loudly in the hallway. "Did you say excuse me, pest?" Adrian growled at me as he tightened his grip on my hair. The only real times I am beaten would be from him. I could never hide my feelings of disgust from him.  
  
"Excuse me, MILORD." I growled the last word, I couldn't really help it. He was keeping me from doing something important. Bad idea. His right hand came and backhanded me right in the face.  
  
"I'm sorry, I couldn't really hear you. Now, what did you say again?"  
  
"Excuse me milord," I answered, this time more subdued. That seemed to satisfy him, because he tossed me aside and kept on walking. I fell to my knees, wiped the blood coming out of my nose on the back of my hand before picking up the kit and continuing down the hallway. If it was possible, I could feel my eye begin to bruise.  
  
$$$  
  
I saw the whole confrontation of the human boy and Adrian from where I was standing. Nada was now being redressed and washed, for about the 3rd time in the past month. I smirked to myself. I had been here a month.  
  
Aubrey should be arriving any day now. Jessica had begun to grow impatient of this place and she tells me so every time possible. I tell her to shut up. I don't mind it here anymore, except for the blood. Too irony.  
  
While Nada had been asleep, I spent my waking time either watching her sleep, laying next to her on the bed, or thinking about her. I feel totally not like myself. Why I kept thinking about her still is a mystery in my eyes.  
  
The boy passed by me, with caution of course. Even nose bleeds can set a vampire off. And his blood was no doubt better tasting then the ones that do the blood letting around here. As he passed by me, I gripped his arm and stared right at him. Jaguar and Lucia had noticed our interaction and looked up at me.  
  
His eyes met mine for a short second, slightly alarmed, but then fell down to the floor. Good. He knew what my gaze could do. "What do you think about Nada?" I asked him, plain as day, or as night, be as it may. His eyes widened before quickly glancing over at Nada.  
  
I knew the moment that his eyes fell upon her half dressed body what she meant to him. She meant a lot to him. That would explain why he had snapped at Adrian. But he had only known her for a short time, how could he like her already? "She's tolerable." He stated simply in such a tone that would convince any human that he meant what he had said. It was easy to see from my perspective that he thought of her more than tolerable, because I look at her in just the same way.  
  
Deep in my mind I knew that I might have to kill this boy one day. Maybe his infatuation would stop soon once I bring her to New Mayhem, but maybe it won't. And even worse, Nada might even fall for this poor excuse as a being and I would have to end his pitiful life. How sad. For Nada that is. I wouldn't mind killing him right on the dot, but Jaguar would most likely object and Nada would hate me. Why do I care about what a human thinks of me?  
  
***  
  
My gaze stayed on the marble floor, even though my mind was somewhere else. He had seen me look at Nada. He knows that I care for her. I also know that he is going to take her to New Mayhem once he leaves. Which I hope is not for a long time. If he took her away from me...  
  
I jerked my arm out of his grip, which was only loosened because he had been thinking. The sudden movement made him snap back to reality. Before he could properly react, I picked up the kit, wiped off some more blood that had now flooded down my chin and onto my shirt, and then passed the kit to Lucia.  
  
"What did Jeshickah break?" Neither the bloody handle nor my bloodied up face seemed to faze Jaguar or Lucia. Adrian had not been the only vampire to beat me, and I got away easily on this beating.  
  
"A rib or two," Lucia replied casually as she wrapped Nada's chest tightly in bandages. Taking a quick glance at me, she smirked. "I'm a Shifter Eric, not a damned Smoke." I smiled in return. We had one or two Smoke witches on Midnight's payroll. We DID have a Vida but you know how THEY act around vampires....  
  
"Is your nose alright?" Jaguar asked finally after about 2 minutes of pure silence, except for the four of us inhaling and exhaling. Jaguar still hasn't gotten rid of that habit. And Jager was standing right behind me. I could feel his aura brushing up against Nada's.  
  
"It's not broken," I responded bluntly as I watched Jaguar place Nada into his bed. How I just wanted to lie down next to. . . .  
  
"No." Turning around, I stared at Jager with a mix of surprise and fear. Had he heard what I said?  
  
$$$  
  
I read his mind. The one time I decide just to take a little peek, I found the one thing that made me want to rip his arms out of his sockets and make him suck on his own blood. He had thought about Nada is such a way that made me turn into predator mode.  
  
"No." I repeated, now knowing that I had his full attention. My hands became fists repeatedly over and over, but I could not fight my anger. His eyes widened as his tiny little mortal mind absorbed the one single word I had said to him.  
  
He looked so pathetic with his bruising eye and his bloody nose. Right then I grew a hatred for the boy; the untouchable boy at the moment. I could not even touch him unless Jaguar was out of the way, or he was on my territory. If I killed him outright, this instant, New Mayhem and Midnight would never be on god terms again. But if I waited until I somehow got Eric into Ramsa or even better, New Mayhem. . .  
  
"No what Jager?" The boy asked me calmly as if I was a small human child repeating a word just because I knew HOW to say it.  
  
"You know what you . . ." My mind snapped. I gripped his hair and pulled him towards me. Just as I was about to bite him, I thought for a moment and only licked the blood off of his chin all the way up to his lip. Yes, the blood was horrible, but I liked to leave the group a bit confused. I left to my room, only a few yards away, to think this whole thing over. Now all I need is Aubrey to get here . . .  
  
^^^^^  
  
My small plan with Jessica had been put into motion when she had asked Turquoise to tell Eric that Nada was coming to paint. The plan had worked out beautifully, or it had until earlier. Now Jager was all but stating that he hated Eric, and Eric and Nada looked like they really had fallen for each other. I had seen it in Eric's eyes when he came into the room, when he looked at Nada. Maybe he himself didn't know it, but to me it was as plain as day.  
  
Now as for our little troublesome Nada, when I had come in, she remembered that I had drugged her. She snapped at me when I was only trying to get her not to further injure herself. But when she had commented on Jeshickah and we had all looked at her, I could see the longing in her gaze, almost feel it.  
  
Sighing, I pulled the plug on the tub, and only after that did my mind register what had just happened a moment ago. Jager had licked Eric's blood off of his chin. Now, I am not a vampire specialist, but that all but screamed 'I HATE YOU!' Good thing Jager was smart enough to know no to hurt Eric right in front of Jaguar. There could have been some major fighting, even though it was kind of hard to see Jager and Jaguar fighting.  
  
"Eric, I don't think it is a good idea to see Nada." I had spoken before I had thought. Seems as if my thoughts took a shortcut right to my mouth. "For awhile, that is."  
  
"Bu-"  
  
"Eric," Jaguar intervened and I was surprised that he sounded like he agreed with me, "Jager has . . ." He was obviously trying to lie this down easily, but I had a feeling that the tower of glass was going to come crashing down any minute.  
  
"You sold her!?!" Eric's voice echoed through the room. There was obvious pain there and I winced. "You sold her to a Mayhem vampire??!"  
  
"Eric," I pleaded. I had been there when Jager had offered a price for her the day before. It was definitely an offer that couldn't be refused.  
  
"Don't you ERIC me!" He shouted at me and I was taken aback. He wasn't really one to shout at people in such a manner. But it was just as obvious as the sky was usually blue that Eric's heart had been ripped out. The one time he had allowed himself to fall for somebody and it smacked him in the face.  
  
"Hmm Eric?" All of us looked over at Nada, who had awoken from her black out. Eric turned and stalked out of the room, but not fast enough as to hide the tears in his eyes. Nada seemed pretty upset too. How could humans form bonds so quickly? I was still upset at the thought. "Why did he leave?" For the first time, I actually heard Nada sound like a 15 year old teenage girl. Maybe that was because there were tears in her eyes.  
  
"You aren't to see him anymore Nada," Jaguar's voice commanded quietly, although it was full of authority. I looked over at Nada, who was trying to get out of the bed and just seemed to remember that her ribs were broken and that her chest was tightly wrapped. That seemed to show her why it was hard for her to breath.  
  
"And who died and made YOU the boss of me?" Nada growled as she glared at Jaguar. She was somewhat joking, but she obviously didn't seem to know that she was Jager's now.  
  
"No one died, and I'm not the boss of you." The second statement confused Nada, I was positive of that. Her left eyebrow arched just slightly. "Jager bought you yesterday." And that was the first time ever that I actually heard a human's heart shatter. 


	15. Chapter 15: The Sell

Hi again! Two POV's. $$$ is Jager and *** is Eric, just like last chapter. I really don't like this chapter, but it tells how Jager had bought Nada and what he plans to do with her, and Eric in his POV thinks about what had happened. Enjoy! P.s. In the chapters before, Jager made us think (yes, even me) that he was in love with her. And in the past few chapters you must have noticed his subtle attitude changes. This is where his true plan comes out. I know, I am just as shocked as you. But I don't mind cause I loooove Jager! The first half is a memory, and ~~ means the memory has ended. Thank you for all who reviewed!  
  
Chapter 15  
$$$$$  
  
"Jaguar, Lucia," I greeted them as I sat down at the dining room table. Luckily it was just the three of us and Lucia seemed to be Nada's friend and so I didn't mind her presence.  
  
"Jager," Jaguar responded as he glanced over at his niece, who just smiled softly at my greeting. I noticed the family resemblance, although rather distant, rather easily from that glance.  
  
"Well, you obviously seem to guess what my reason for coming here was," I told them as I took a sip of water that a slave had placed in front of me. It quenched my parched throat, but I needed to feed on later.  
  
"She's not for sale." Well, of course not Jaguar! I thought to myself as I set down the glass.  
  
"Well, I believe we can negotiate that," I said casually as I looked at Lucia. She was an attractive young shifter, and I wondered only for a moment what she would look like in her Tiger form. I'm sure Risika would be fascinated, had she came.  
  
"And how so?" That was my cue. I pulled out the agreement I had signed and put it out on the table. Then I put my finger on a single line that I had found last night mid-read in attempt to figure out what I had actually sign.  
  
The following agreement can be nullified if terms change drastically or an administrator wishes to pull his/her name off the treaty.  
  
"Seems as if you found the negotionable factor," Lucia told me in such a tone that I did not know how to decipher. It was blank. I had struck a nerve in her. True, who wouldn't want her friend not to be sold?  
  
"Jager." Jaguar's voice finally sounded defeated. He even sighed after running his fingers through his long black hair.  
  
"This is not just a game," I whispered, knowing that my habit of frolicking with mortal young women had finally come back to haunt me.  
  
"Then quit acting like it is," Lucia growled at me as she stood up, her movements mirroring her second form before it attacked. "Quit being such a. . . ." Her eyes caught mine. My mind grazed hers and she felt it. She and Jessica were working together on something. That was easy to tell. Lucia had seemed to be borrowing Jessica's wardrobe.  
  
"New Mayhem is not the best place for a human to grow accustomed to our world, Jager." I agreed with Jaguar on that. Personally I had no plan to bring her back home so soon.  
  
"I know. Which is why I plan to negotiate with you on this." Glaring at me, Lucia knocked her chair to the floor and left the room. Perhaps hearing this disturbed her . . . .  
  
"What is your suggestion?" Smiling, I leaned back in my chair.  
  
"Nada is barely a teenage human, as we all know. Fala, Moira, many would argue against housing such a foolish young child." Looking at Jaguar, it was obvious that he agreed. "What I am proposing is that I will keep her here for a few . . . . years," Seeing curiosity in Jaguar's gaze, I quickly added, "She will not be broken, but kept away from other vampires. I . . . believe you have the empty cells in the basement from the original Midnight?"  
  
"The original Midnight was destroyed," I was informed coolly.  
  
"Yes, but you did restore it back, down to the last important detail, did you not?" That seemed to strike him as a surprise.  
  
"You've done your homework."  
  
"I want Nada down there." Although it was obvious that I had wanted that, the vampire still looked shocked. "I'll pay for the costs for it to be refurnished."  
  
"I suppose if YOU paid for it . . ." I seemed to be getting to him, but with high reluctance. His line is rather stubborn, especially when it came to money and power.  
  
"I'll pay extra if you make sure that she has no contact with anyone but me, you, and a select few servants." I did have a lot of money. Making your self the long lost son of several wealthy families can do that. Ask Risika. I did give her that advice after all.  
  
"How much?" Yep, I had him hooked.  
  
"75 grand a year." Just by his look he must have thought me mad.  
  
"How many years again?" Slowly, he sat back down and folded his hands in his lap.  
  
"Four, starting next year." Considering that it was sometime in September, there were a few more months ahead.  
  
"And until then?" I smiled. Jaguar had all but verbally accepted my offer.  
  
"The cells will be brought down, but then rebuilt into one large keep." The word keep sounds better than cage, doesn't it? "Then it will be furnished with a bathroom, bed, closet, book shelves, weights, anything else necessary and whatever she wants."  
  
"I meant, what about Nada?" Hehe, my mind was still on money. As I thought about it, I realized what my subconscious had been planning the whole time. I smiled wickedly as my mine began to work on its own.  
  
"I want her human interaction to decrease into only or 4 visits a month by January." As if Jaguar had just realized what I had been planning, he slowly stood up. Too bad that he hadn't caught before I did.  
  
"You're training her mind." He told me. No questions asked. I nodded. "Deal." Shaking his hand, I smiled. I was training Nada's mind to become a perfect vampire. A perfect vampire. A perfect Silver vampire. This would explain why I had thought about what she thought. This whole thing would explain why I had thought about her all the time.  
  
This whole thing was going to make her hate me, loath me, despise me. And that meant that she was going to fight back hard when I would take her blood and make her one of the night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rather fondly, I thought about how quick that had happened. No longer than 20 minutes. It took me 20 minutes to begin the process of building a vampire mind set inside a 15 year old. This would be an interesting next few years.  
  
Lying back on my bed, I then brought my attention to the boy. The boy who had known my Nada for less than half an hour and already was in love. Love at first sight? Doubtful. Thinking for a moment, I thought that if she really did love him then it would be better for the hatred I needed to form in her mind. If I took her away from him.I smiled wickedly. This was going to be a VERY interesting plan. Now if I passed it to Aubrey . . .  
  
***  
  
Stalking into my room, I slammed the door behind me as I wiped the blood coming out of my nose on my already bloody sleeve. My skin still tingled from where Jager had licked away the blood. After pulling off my shirt and throwing it in the corner of my room, I went into my bathroom to wash off my face.  
  
After that, I pinched my nose between my index finger and my thumb to try and stop the bleeding. I didn't have much of a choice as not to look in the mirror. It was right in front of me. My eyes were red rimmed, my skin showing some red blood stains, which only showed because my skin had paled.  
  
Jager had bought Nada. No, I thought to myself as I sat down on my bed, Jaguar had sold her. The first human girl that I had let myself fall in love with, if only for a short while, had been sold to a Mayhem. Why did my chest ache when I thought about her? It feels like my heart is being pulled out. It must be the bruised rib I had gotten from Gabriel the other day for not calling him a sweet name like milord. Ravyn had set him straight afterwards. Seems as if she has grown a soft spot for me. But I could see, with Gabriel as a prime example, that she preferred older men.  
  
Not bothering to put on another shirt, I left my room in order to go into the kitchen. I hope they have ice there. It might help my rib.  
  
Or, thought another part of myself, my weak side. It might freeze your heart.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alright guys that was it. Confusing slightly wasnt it? Imagine how i feel. I wrote it! Please review!! 


	16. Chapter 16: Time Warp

This is a few months later, when the basement is redone and Nada is relocated from a secluded room in the building to the refurnished basement. The past months had hardened Nada and changed her perspective greatly. She has changed her name, with the unsaid advice from Turquoise. Sorry if people who liked Nada before no longer like her, but take it out on her and not me. Everyone except for Blaze, Lucia, Nada, Dieta, Terry, and Adrian belong to Amelia. I regret to inform you that I do now own Jager. . .  
Five months later.  
  
Somehow, I don't really know, but I had begun to fall asleep at the exact time of sunrise and wake up the exact time of sunset. I have checked the almanac that Jager had bought me when he left with Aubrey and Jessica. That had been a two weeks ago. It feels like an eternity in this room.  
  
Of course, where I have called home for the the past month isn't a single room. It has a bathroom, closet, small bedroom area, just like my old room. Oh, and that cursed mirror. Damn that mirror.  
  
There are no windows in this room, which means that I have not seen the sun in such a long time. I am in the basement, after all. Over half a year now I have lived in this place where vampires roam like the predators that they are. That was what Jager had told me.  
  
Jager. My mind boils with hatred just by the name. He has me locked up in here, and I knew what is in store for me. Another four years of this.  
  
Looking up from my Persian rug, my eyes connect with the girl in the mirror. She had gone from a overweight girl to an average size in such a quick time. I have no idea how she did that. I'll have to ask her. Her skin is almost vampiric pale, her hair was silky and shiny (Turquoise taught me how to do that to my hair as one of my farewell gifts. Her other gifts were a whole bag full of good smelling soaps and oils, and a newer version of Tiger Tiger.) and her eyes burned with hatred and stubbornness. She was my twin, the only other human I have seen since about four days ago, when Eric had snuck in with news of upstairs. Legally, the last human I had seen was Turquoise when she had waved goodbye to me from over Jaguar's shoulder as he closed the door.  
  
I have built up a hate for Jager, that is obvious enough. I sleep like a vampire now, even though I did that on accident.  
  
Eric had told me what Lucia had told him about how Jager had used the agreement in his favor.  
  
Eric. My heart jumps at the thought of him. He would sneak into here and we would talk for hours upon hours. He used to come every other day, but Jaguar had grown suspicious. And so now it's every Monday and Saturday. Personally I don't remember how long ago Monday was.  
  
Last time he was here, we kissed. It was my first kiss, no point denying that. From a human that is.. And I don't know if it was his first one though. The kiss was soft and gentle. My heart flutters just thinking about it. Just before he had left, he promised me that I would not be turned into what Jager was trying to form me as.  
  
The doorknob turning catches my eye, which is now very accustomed to the dark. I haven't used the lights given to me for the past two days. Slowly, it keeps turning. I know it cannot be Eric. He sticks a rose petal under the door before he comes in.  
  
How amusing. I have known him for five months and now everything that happens reminds me of him. Perhaps it's my heart reaching out for love, or maybe it's my human instincts grasping for something to hold onto.  
  
"Amaranta." Slowly, I look up at Jager with annoyance. He has insisted on calling me Amaranta, telling me that Nada was a weak, stupid girl. She died the day I came here. I agree with him, but I know that Nada was only weak and stupid because she was innocent. Turquoise had told me that her real name was Catherine (which I did guess the first day I met her) and she had told me that Catherine was innocent, not stupid. Now, just as Turquoise had changed her name, so have I.  
  
"I'm not Amaranta." I growled at him as got off my bed and went over to my mirror, pretending to be looking at myself, but I really look at his misty reflection. I smirk.  
  
"Yes, you are." Before I know it, he has me in his arms, his lips pressed against mine. I had been told of Jager's reputation of flirting with mortal girls and he thinks of life as a game. I was just a new character in his game. Hopefully he will grow bored of me.  
  
I ram my fist into his gut, which sends me flying a few feet away from him as he tossed me away. "Go ahead," I threaten, "hit me again." My mind has become a bit dark, I admit that. Yours would too if you were tossed into a dark secluded rooms for almost half a year, never seeing the light of day, trying to be molded into a mortal vampire every day.  
  
"I would not hurt you again, Amaranta," he whispered sweetly before gesturing to a large cardboard box that I had not seen before. "A gift, my love." I remember that Ather had called Rachel, now known as Risika, Risika when she woke up, and it was Risika that Rachel became. He was trying that on me, and it would have worked on light loving Nada, but not me.  
  
"Get out," I growl in response to his gift, and he surprisingly does as I say. That leaves me stung for a moment or two.  
  
The box moved, I know it did. Moving over to the box, I sure hoped that I have not lost my noodle. No, it moved again. Curiosity bubbled inside me as I flicked on a light, wincing at the brightness. Then I slowly opened the box. . . . .  
  
At the bottom of the box there was a small child, no older than five. He looked up at me and screamed. "Mummy!!" I jerked away, not knowing who he was.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked him slowly, not sure how to respond to a scream of fear like that.  
  
"Don't hurt me like that evil vampire did to my mummy!" My jaw dropped. He thought I was a vampire.  
  
"I'm not a vampire, kid." He peeked over the rim of the box and looked me over. His red hair was so bright that it made me blink a few times and his blue eyes reminded me of the ocean. But I don't really remember the ocean.  
  
"Then what are you? Shifter?" I arched a brow. "You a human?" I nodded slowly, not really sure what he thought, or what he was thinking. "Then what are you doing here in the basement of Midnight?"  
  
"You know this place?" I haven't had an actual conversation with a stranger for so long, and my mind strayed to why Jager brought this kid to me.. "What's your name kid?"  
  
"I'm not a kid," he huffed. He looked around four or five years old, but I didn't comment. "And I don't know my name." That was sick. A kid sees his mother killed, and then is tossed into a basement with a crazy girl.  
  
"Well, I am going to call you." My eyes fell onto his hair and I smiled. "Blaze. Your name is Blaze, ok?" He climbed out of the box, which revealed a tattered bunch of skin and bones wrapped in ripped cloth.  
  
"Makes me sound big!" He told me as he looked around the room. "You live here by yourself?" I sighed, looking around the room myself. It was easy to tell that someone lived here, but it just looked so dead.  
  
"Well, I certainly don't unlive here," I replied, and to my surprise, he laughed. He would so much cuter if he got cleaned up and had some proper clothes.  
  
"What's your name?" The question tossed me off guard so quick that I shuddered.  
  
"Na-," I started, but then remembered that Nada had joined Catherine, their innocence gone. "My name is Avalon," I finally told him after a moment or two of silence.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A few hours later I woke up to the sound of a doorknob turning. My eyes darted up to Blaze, who was sound asleep on my bed, wearing one of my baggy shirts. It went past his knees, but it is better than those rags he was wearing.  
  
"Avalon?" I sat up straight, although my back ached from sleeping on the floor. Quickly looking at Blaze once more, I crawled closer to the door.  
  
"Lucia?" My heart jumped for joy. She always snuck Eric down to me. Although we rarely talk anymore, she is my dearest friend.  
  
"Yes, I brought you a present." The doorknob stopped turning and it opened slowly to reveal Eric, wearing a white dress shirt and white jeans. My eyes filled with tears. He looked like an angel.  
  
"Hi there," he whispered in my ear after Lucia left. He caught my lips with his and I was lost in oblivion of pleasure. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his neck. . .  
  
"Avalon, what are you doing?" I pulled away from Eric quickly to see Blaze rubbing his eyes, squinting at Eric with curiosity.  
  
"Who is that?" Eric asked me as he looked at Blaze. I hoped he could help me out with this kid.  
  
"His name is Blaze, and Jager dropped him off to me in a cardboard box earlier tonight." I smiled when I saw Eric's face. He must have just heard a bit of Nada in my voice. I sounded so casual.  
  
"Does he need proper clothes?" He finally asked me, looking over at Blaze. The boy just hopped back into my bed and covered himself with all the blankets.  
  
"I would like that. He is wearing my favorite shirt." Eric looked like he was about to say something, but Lucia broke in, throwing the door open.  
  
"Jaguar wants you Eric, now." I could see Eric's debate in his eyes. On one hand, he wanted to stay with me and wanted to tell Jaguar not to get his boxers in a bunch, and the other hand he was the obedient son.  
  
"Go, Eric, come back Saturday. Bring back some clothes for Blaze when you do." I quickly kissed him before he ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
Sighing sadly, I lay back down on the floor and curl up into my protective ball before falling back asleep. Dreams have fled my mind, and are replaced with memories that I don't wish to remember. Nada has not completely left me, she haunts me in my memories. Just like how a vampire thinks about them being human, I think of Nada in that same manner.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(dream)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
On my way home, I noticed a rather expensive car outside of my home. The cold nips at my feet and before I can think about the car, I walk briskly inside. Just as I walk in, I am confronted by a young man with blue hair and black eyes. He grins at me with a vengeance an I need to suppress a shiver. A moment later I blink and he is gone as soon as he had appeared.  
  
"Mom?" I ask somewhat unnerved as I toss my backpack into the corner of the room. I know she is in the kitchen, I can hear the dishes clattering. Something had upset her. She is always fiddling with the dishes when she gets upset.  
  
I walk into the kitchen to see my step father grinning ear to ear and my mother washing dishes frantically. I have no idea how old my mom was when she had me, and I have no idea how old she is now. We never celebrated birthdays here, except for mine when I was little.  
  
Dieta had long black flowing hair, a deep tan, and shocking green eyes. When she smiled, it made you smile as well. It was just the way it was. She looks as if she is no older than 25, but that couldn't be true. I am 14, 15 tomorrow. She would have had to be 9 or 10 when she gave birth to me if she was as old as she looked.  
  
"Hi darling," she said nervously as she scrubbed plates mercilessly. I wondered what had upset her. Turning around, I saw my step father grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"What are YOU smiling at?" I snap at him, glaring daggers in his direction. Whenever he smiled, it meant something bad. The man I had seen in the hallway seemed to get more real with every breath I took.  
  
"Don't talk to me like that, you little piece of nothing," he snorted at me. Terry was a lawyer, and he was still wearing his suit. But he looked like he had just won a million dollars, the way he was grinning. I shrugged off his comment about me being nothing. It stung every time, but less each time he did it. "I would hit you right now, but you aren't my problem anymore."  
  
"Is the girl ready?" My attention turns to a young black man in the doorway, his eerie eyes meeting mine for a split second.  
  
"Yeah," Terry grunted as he took a sip of his coffee. "Get her out of here." My eyes widened as I spun towards my mother.  
  
"Mom, what is he talking about?" Slowly, she turned to look at me.  
  
"I wish you wouldn't have to go through what I had to as a child, but I know you will survive this sweety." Survive what? Her eyes seemed to show me how old her mind must feel. Her eyes were filled with knowledge and fear, but made no move to explain this whole thing to me.  
  
"Get her out!" Terry screamed at the man, who came up from behind me and pulled my arms behind my back. I gasped. His skin was so cold . . . .  
  
"Mom!" I screamed at her as I was dragged backwards out of my house. I was no feather and this guy was pulling me out like a kid with a red wagon on a string.  
  
"Damn leech. Why did he have to take my baby away from me? She shouldn't even be bought by Adrian. She is bonded to Flare." was the last thing I heard her say.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (reality)~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I jerked awake in a cold sweat. Back then, none of those words made sense to me. She used to babble on and on about that sort of thing all the time. But now those words began to come together. I knew humans shouldn't be sold into Midnight, they can be taken from anywhere, except now, with that agreement Jager had signed. Yet Adrian had bought me. He could have just killed my parents. I wouldn't mind that fate for Terry, but I could not imagine my mother dead. And Flare. . . wasn't he a vampire of Midnight? I had heard Jaguar talking about him a few days after I had been locked up in the upstairs room last year. He had lost a blood bond human and came back here to look for her.  
  
Apparently, she had been gone for over 300 years. What had Jaguar called her? Tanata. My mind froze. Suddenly everything made sense. My last name had been Tanata, just as my mother's, before she married Terry. I had always asked her if it was her real last name or my real daddy's. She told me she made it up when she immigrated over here when she was little. Which I thought odd;she didn't have an accent.  
  
Dieta Tanata was a blood bonded human of Midnight, Nada had been her daughter. Nada could be a tamed servant now if it wasn't for the mind block blood bonding had caused. Flare's blood ran through her veins, just as it did mine. Which would explain a lot of things. Like why I never had a pimple in my life, considering vampire blood perfected the body.  
  
My mind was going into overdrive and my head began to ache. Maybe it was the fact that I actually knew how I had become what I am now, and why Nada is dead.  
  
Curling back into my ball, I let tears stream down my cheeks. My whole life I had lived in the illusion of the day, the illusion of freedom. I had never truly been free, for I was bound to Midnight by blood.  
  
~~~  
  
So, how did ya'll like it? Did you hate it? I'm sorry if it offends you, or anything. Alright, please review! 


	17. Chapter 17: Tempers Flare, life is not F...

Alright, it four months later. Nothing of any real importance happened in those months. Jager came and visited Avalon, only while Blaze is sleeping. Eric visits twice a week, and Blaze gets much better and entertains Avalon when she feels upset. You know something is going to happen, don't you? My audience is so observant.  
  
Four months later..  
  
It's been almost a year since I came here, or at least I think so. I no longer remember what it feels like to have the sun on my face. I have gotten much skinnier, but the weights that Jager had bought for me has strengthened me. I no longer curse the mirror, but admire myself in it. I have grown greatly in these past 9 months or so. My hair has grown down to the crook of my neck, but I cut it back to its short state. I learned how to cut hair while doing Blaze's.  
  
That little kid has grown into the clothes Eric had given him several days after he had been brought here by Jager. His skin is now as pale as mine, but he is nothing like what I have become. Despite my fight against the darkness of Jager's world, I have found myself falling closer and closer to the edge each time he visits. Blaze is just as happy as I was when I was a kid of his age.  
  
I have let myself care for a few things my whole life. My mother was taken from me, my whole life was stolen, my innocence destroyed. But over these few months I have grown to care for Lucia, Eric, and Blaze more than I had ever cared for anything. My humanity is grasping for something to hold onto. Three things keep me from going over the edge.  
  
I am 16 years old now, if I remember correctly. But that is not important anymore. I have tried to think myself out of this whole thing. I would rather belong to Flare than to Jager anyday. I would rather die than become a vampire. But you die when you become a vampire, don't you? Let me rephrase that. I would rather die a human than die becoming a vampire. That's better.  
  
"Avalon, come look at this!" Blaze pulls me from my lonely dark thoughts as he tugs on my sleeve, which is quite long for me. Obediently I stand up and let him pull me over to the door. I don't know why he wants me over there, I don't see anything of any importance. "See it?" He asks me as he bends down and peeks under the floor. I sigh, but I smile as well. Seeing him act so normal under such circumstances always makes me feel like if he can still stay sane, so can I.  
  
"Blaze, I don't know why you look under there." I tell him with a sad tone. I have tried countless times to open the metal door, but it never seems to even budge. Eric later explained to me that it has several locks on top and bottom, which would explain why I couldn't even make it move an inch.  
  
"I can see light!" He whispers excitedly and the words catch my ears. Light? That means it has to be daytime now. Ever since Blaze came here, he has slept like a human. His sleeping habits brought me a step closer to my old self.  
  
"It's just the sun, Blaze. You cant get a tan from it when your on this side of the door."  
  
"But doesn't the first door have to be open if we can see the sun?" Oh, what a smart boy! I picked him up and took a few steps away from the door just in time before the metal door creaked open.  
  
A young man with fire red hair, pale skin, and eternal black eyes stepped into the room. He looked at the two of us with a smirk before glancing behind his shoulder at someone who wasn't in my range of view. "Cute kid Jaguar, who's the girl?" I set Blaze down and he ran off, probably to hide in the bathtub. That is his favorite place to hide after all. Just then, Jaguar stepped into view and he seemed to be startled by my appearance. This is the first time in over five months that he has seen me. But his gaze once again turns serious as he looks me over slowly. I guess I must have looked sexy in my short long sleeved crimson red shirt and my black lowriders, which showed off my slowly forming little six pack because the red haired vampire smirked. "She looks good enough to eat."  
  
"I brought you down here about the kid, not her," Jaguar informed the vampire as they both walked in and looked around my room. My mind went defensive and I walked backwards, towards the tub. This vampire was not going to take Blaze from me, I wouldn't let him. "Nada, where is the boy?" I glared at Jaguar for two reasons: he referred to me as Nada, who is dead, and he assumed that I would just give up Blaze easy.  
  
"None of your damned business," I snapped, some of Nada's attitude coming back. The vampire was in front of me suddenly and gripped my wrists in one hand, his gaze piercing mine. A look of shock crossed his face and he tossed me several feet away.  
  
"Flare." Jaguar growled as he saw me get up. The name made me stop moving instantly. This was Flare? This is who my mother and I are bonded to? Slowly, my brown gaze met his once again and he smiled.  
  
"So this is the offspring of my lost slave, hmmm?" His voice sent a shiver down my spine and back up again.  
  
"Flare, I believe that you found Tanata?" Flare took several steps away from me with a deadly grin.  
  
"I taught her her last lesson. Never run from me." Anger consumed me. He killed Nada's mother, the one thing I still loved from her life as an innocent.  
  
I ran at him and tackled him to the floor. He must have been so surprised to see a slave fight back that he didn't see me coming. If he had been ready, he would have barely budged.  
  
The next thing I knew, I heard a piercing scream in my ear and I felt something drip down the side of my head. Opening my eyes, I see Flare glaring at me as he stood over me. He was about to make another blow to me but Jaguar's whip wrapped itself around Flare's arm and pulled him away. "She isn't yours." Jaguar growled and I finally recognized the coldness behind my head as the bathtub.  
  
"Avalon.?" Blaze squeaked behind me and I heard another scream as Flare pulled him out of the tub by his shirt. The first scream was different than Blaze's. The first one was mine.  
  
"Get off him!" I yelled as I grabbed the metal towel rack off the wall and smacked Flare in the head with it. I heard his neck snap and he dropped Blaze instantly as he staggered back. Quickly I pulled Blaze behind me just in time to see Jaguar looking at me, eyes wide. That's when I knew that Nada was truly dead. Jager had created an animal out of an innocent girl. Despite Nada's attitude, she would never injure something so severely. I had protected myself and Blaze, who was like my child. Animal instincts.  
  
"Avalon?" Was the first thing Jaguar said after a moment or two of silence. I didn't even look at him, I was watching Flare getting up.  
  
"I call blood!" He growled as he made his way towards me again. My heart thudded but I did not budge, I only pulled Blaze further behind me and tightened the grip on the metal towel rack.  
  
"She didn't draw blood," Came another voice. My heart stopped. If I had known he was there..  
  
"Adrian is right," Jaguar agreed as he kept his eyes on me. Did I see respect in his eyes? Respect for what? No, it was disappointment. He was disappointed in me for giving in to Jager's constant molding. Funny, he was never here anymore.  
  
"Adrian Fair," Flare almost purred as he turned to see Adrian. Adrian Fair? Who is that?  
  
"I don't go by name anymore," Adrian answered coolly, his eyes meeting mine for a moment. I still saw the hatred in those eyes, but there was sadness as well. But it was as if the hatred was reserved for someone else. "And if I recall, you don't go by your real name either. Rarely anyone does." His last comment was clearly meant for me. He knew that I was no longer the girl that he had bought. And no doubt he was glad that I took that metal pole to Flare's head.  
  
"Fine, Adrian. You have stated your point." With that, Flare glared at me one more time before leaving. Then Adrian's eyes fell upon me again.  
  
"Avalon is it now?" He asked, somewhat mockingly. "Well, do you think you can send a message to Nada?" My eyes stung with tears, but they did not fall. I head my head high.  
  
"What would the message be?" I asked him almost as quiet as a whisper. I did not trust my voice enough not to crack. Blaze whimpered behind me. He still had a very nasty phobia of vampires, and no doubt Flare just made it worse. He had, after all, watched Jager kill his mother.  
  
"Tell her that I send my regards to her about her mother, Dieta." My gaze became hazy. The tears were threatening to fall. "I shared a cell with her a few years back." That seemed very hard for him to say, and it was the first time I ever saw him look sad, truly sad. But it was replaced by disgust not a second later. "And tell Nada that I pity her pathetic lost soul." Then, he left as well. Which left me with Jaguar, the one who had betrayed me in the first place.  
  
"Avalon?" He repeated my name again and I set the pole back on the towel rack before putting Blaze's towel back on.  
  
"You ok?" I asked Blaze, putting my back to Jaguar to face the young child. His eyes were wide with fear and he was shaking, but besides that he was alright. Physically that is.  
  
"Yeah Avalon, can I go to bed?" I smiled and kissed the top of his head. He would never really admit that he was scared. He is too manly for that, or so he says.  
  
"Go ahead Blaze," I reply, nudging him on his way. Once he is in the bed I then turn my attention to Jaguar, who hasn't moved from the spot he had been 5 minutes ago. "Yes, you said my name?" Woah. My vision went black for a minute and I had to sit down right away, even if it meant stumbling back rather ungracefully and falling on my butt.  
  
"Jager wont be happy when he sees this." Jaguar muttered to himself as he made his way over to me. I laughed, touching the blood that ran down the side of my face.  
  
"For seeing me hurt or for seeing the bathtub cracked?" I asked sarcastically as he touched the side of my head. It hurt like Hell.  
  
"You have a habit of getting yourself beaten up while your around me." He finally said after he watched me for a moment or two.  
  
"You have a nasty habit of being there while I get beaten up," I snapped after he touched the wound. It hurt. "Sadistic are we?"  
  
"I'll bring Turquoise down here to take care of your head," He replied coldly as he stood up and left the room. Before closing the door, he looked at me once more and sighed. " I heard Jager plans to take you to New Mayhem earlier than he planned." That being said, i allowed my mind to go black. 


	18. Chapter 18: Too tired to give it a name

Alrightoz faithful readers! Some of my readers might have left after the past chapters because it might sound like I am copying Turquoise or something, but I really am not. I never planned this to happen. It just did. Anywhoz, sorry for all the month jumping. Nothing really important happens every day in a dark basement. If anyone has any questions, ask. If you have flames, they will be used to toast my marshmallows. Now that that is established, characters that you know from books arent mine and the ones you dont know from books are mine. This is shorter than my other ones but bear with me. Here is chapter 18. Oh, heh, it might be good for youz to know that this is in Turquoise's POV.  
  
************  
  
"Nada, what have you done to yourself?" I groan as I am ushered into the basement by Jaguar. The girl that I had grown to love like a little sister when she had been upstairs was now turning into what Jager wanted her to be. Her body was much thinner but subtly muscled,and her skin was as pale as a vampires. This whole thing was not going in her human side's favor.  
  
"She doesn't call herself Nada anymore," Jaguar told me as I walked closer to the sleeping girl. But what he said made me turn and look at him. He knew, obviously, that I had also changed my name because I was an innocent before Daryl had killed my family and took me into Midnight. And I knew that Nada was feeling just the same way. I did not feel anger towards her. She has been down here for too long and there is no way that she could have stayed the same under these circumstances.  
  
"And what exactly does she call herself?" I ask as I kneel down next to her. I see no major wounds on her until I put her on her side and saw a huge gash in the back of her head.  
  
"Avalon." Came another voice that came from the bathtub. I jumped at the new sound but I knew he couldnt be threatening. The voice didnt sound any older than 6. When a small bright red haired boy poked his head out of the tub, I actually smiled. He was rather adorable.  
  
"Avalon now is it?" Opening my kit, I cleaned out the wound and patched it up. The little boy kept looking at me to Nada, I mean Avalon, then back to me. I guess he was a bit nervous around Jaguar, who still stood in the doorway.  
  
My mind kept drifting to Eric. He loved her with all his heart and more, any fool could see that. Whenever a new slave came, he showed them around, like usual. But when someone brought their own "pets" and there was a non broken one, Eric always seemed to talk to that one the most, even if it gotten him beaten. None of that has to do with Avalon at all, but it was obvious that he had gotten a taste of non broken conversations from the girl and now he thirsted for more.  
  
How do I know he loves her? Everytime Lucia and I sneak him down here, he seems to glow with happiness. And he is dazed the next day. He has been receiving more beatings because he has not acted properly around the guests. I doubt he cares though.  
  
"Are you done Turquoise?" I pull my mind back to reality and nod as Jaguar picks her up and lays her on the bed. As I put away the case, I couldnt help but ask.  
  
"How did this happen?" That seemed to stop Jaguar in mid stride. Slowly, he looked at the boy, who cowered in the tub. "And who is he?"  
  
"That boy was a present to Avalon from her owner." Both of us seemed to grimace. This boy was part of Jager's long term plan to turn Nada into a perfect vampire. No sympathy, like Jaguar, or any softness for humans, like Aubrey or even Jager himself. "And as for what happened, Flare." Oh, that would explain everything. Jaguar's bloodbrother owned Avalon by blood, as odd as that actually sounds. Her mother, his blood bond, gave Avalon some of Flare's blood while she was in her mother's womb. Which would explain why Avalon's mind was blocked. Somewhat like Jessica, but not really at all. Her mother had been a full blooded vampire and Jessica had been kept alive in her mother for over 20 years by Siete's blood, and Avalon's had been just a bond, with only a small amount of vampire blood.  
  
"Bad vampire picked me up and Avalon hit him mighty hard!" The boy exclaimed proudly as he slipped out of the tub. It was odd to me how this boy could be so normal after such a long time in here.  
  
"And what happened next?" I asked him, wanting to get the boy's point of view on this. Everytime I saw a young boy it reminded me of my little brother. But Eric made me ache the most. He was as old as my brother would have been if he had lived. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. It has been years since my family has been murdered, but the wound had been reopened several years ago and it only being rehealed now.  
  
"Well, the vampire dropped me and the metal bar hit him. He hit her really hard and made her hurt her head. Then he called blood," it was obvious the boy didnt know what it meant, "But another vampire came in and said that she didn't draw any, which she didn't."  
  
"What did the other vampire look like?" I prodded carefully, not sure who the vampire was. There wasnt very many vampires that knew Avalon was down here.  
  
"He had really dark blue hair." Wow, Adrian had protected Avalon? This shocked me for a moment and I turned to lock eyes with Jaguar. He simply nodded briefly. So Adrian HAD done so. That unnerved me quite a bit, although I really wasnt sure why.  
  
"Alright, keep going," I asked softly as I looked at him again. Those were definetly Midnight clothes, but the sparkle in his eye told me that he was not born here. Jager had taken him from a family and brought him here to a 16 year old girl. Or maybe Jager killed the boy's family and THEN brought him here to a 16 year old girl.  
  
"Well, that vampire back there agreed and the mean one left. Then the blue haired said something about sharing a cell with Nada's mother before he left." Once again my eyes darted back to Jaguar. Was that the reason for Adrian's hatred? Being constantly reminded of his human past when he looked at a girl? It would most likely enrage any vampire such as Adrian.  
  
"Do you know what started this whole thing?"  
  
"Flare found her mother and killed her." Jaguar answered when the boy did not. That made my eyes actually tear up as I looked at the form of Avalon in the bed. She still had family out there when she came, but now she is a nobody. Flare had killed the last thing in Nada's life that Avalon loved.  
  
"Let's go," I mutter under my breath as I stand up and walk away from the child. "What's your name kid?" I ask him as I pause at the door to look at him. I felt somewhat guilty for leaving him in the dark, but I could not do a thing about it.  
  
"Blaze is my name, red hair is my game!" The kid squealed. I laughed, and I was surprised to see Jaguar suppressing a smirk. Neither of us has heard anything so ridiculously pointless in almost a year. Not since Nada got thrown into our lives.  
  
"Well, bye then Blaze." I tell him before I leave the basement. I need to tell Eric that we have to do something special for Avalon. If what Jaguar heard was correct, there is not much time for Avalon and Eric.  
  
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I know, crappy wasnt it? It really isnt important to the plot but I needed someone elses POV on this. I apologize over and over but I think the next chapter is going to be a winner. Eric's and Nada's POV. 


	19. Chapter 19: The reluctant admittance

Alright, this is Eric's POV. Thank you to all who reviewed! I never expected to get so many reviews, it's really flattering. Well, for those who are reading this, I own Lucia, Blaze, Nada/Avalon, Flare, Blaze, and all the other ones who you have not seen in Amelia's books. And as for those who recognize names, those are not mine. Despite the fact that I am in love with Jager STILL, I do not own him. *sigh* Enjoy!  
  
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Poking my food with my fork, I sit in the dining room with a bored look upon my face. I haven't seen Avalon in a few days. It feels like eternity to me. I have no idea why she makes me feel this way, even after all of this time. But each visit we get closer and closer together. Although she is 16 and I am a year or so older, I feel as if we were meant for each other. Love at first sight was not what happened to me. Love itself overcame my soul.  
  
I am not used to the feeling I get when I see her, and I have to fight back tears when she is in my arms. I thank anything I can for bringing her to me, even Adrian. Just the feel of her skin against mine, the scent of her hair, her . . .  
  
"Eric?" I do not look up from my breakfast and stare at it as if I was trying to make it melt. My stomach growls pleadingly for something to eat, but I do not pick up my fork further than to stab the pitiful egg.  
  
"Eric?" Lucia's voice was closer now and I could tell she was sitting next to me, and if not right next to me, rather close. Her voice tried to hide the worry and concern I knew she felt, but she never really was a good liar. "I have to tell you something." Now her tone had changed to guilt. Lucia was rarely guilty of anything, except for pranks on vampires occasionally. Don't ask.  
  
"What did you do Lucia?" I look over her and am not upset at what I see. She has grown taller and more gorgeous over the past year, and she spends more time in her tiger form than ever. I suppose it's to hang out with Shayla and Jaguar in the garden. I watch occasionally, but not as much as I had in past times.  
  
"It's about Avalon. About a year ago when Jessica and Jager were here for the agreement, Jessica and I formed a plan to make sure Jager didn't get too attached to her." I set the fork down, this made me lose my appetite. And my heart started to beat faster.  
  
"Yeah, it obviously didn't work," I snapped at her, slowly standing from my chair. She looked even more guilty and I pushed my plate away. "What else do you have to say?" She reluctantly looked up at me.  
  
"Well, we tried to get Jager to hate her, despise her and leave with Jessica and Aubrey when Aubrey came. I never found out why he came, but the day he entered this place the basement thing was sent underway and Nada was locked up in a room."  
  
"What are you getting at?" I asked, impatient. I didn't like how this was going. Her eyes finally broke away from mine and looked at my food. I knew that expression. I had done the exact one not a few minutes ago.  
  
"Well, our big plan backfired. Jessica and I had tried to get Jager away but he found one of the few flaws in the agreement by then, and used it against us." She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "It's my fault Nada is dead and Avalon is suffering like an abused puppy in the basement." I froze, I had assumed what she had been getting at in the beginning, but her actually admitting it made me freeze.  
  
"An abused puppy?" Both of our attentions turn to Turquoise, her kit still in hand. And there was blood on her hands. Her eyes seemed a bit squinted, although there wasnt much light up here. I knew where she had been.  
  
"What happened Turquoise?" I asked nervously as she set down her kit and stared at me with an unreadable face. I never liked how she did that. It made me feel like I was a piece of property. And let me tell you, it is not a good feeling.  
  
"Flare hit her." That didn't surprise me much, that bastard had a short temper. Worse than Adrian. "And Adrian stood up for her after Flare called blood."  
  
"There is no point calling blood here," I snarled as I glared around the room in attempt to find something to make my anger cool down. I didn't find anything.  
  
"There was a kid down there too." Turquoise added a few moments later. That won my attention. Small children always did. Call it a weakness. I wonder if she is talking about Blaze, or if there really was a new kid down there.  
  
"His name is Blaze," Lucia informed both of us, which brought our attention to her. She had been rather quiet the past few moments. "Jager plans to kill him infront of Avalon within the next month or so." She sighed, and I heard her try to fight back tears. I had remembered Blaze had so much life for a Midnight human. I wouldn't let him get killed. Even if it costed me my life.  
  
I glanced at the two young women before walking past both of them and moving on into my room.  
  
Blaze was going to be killed. I couldn't let that happen. My mind raced as I paced in my room, feeling like a caged tiger. And then there was Avalon. How was she going to take Blaze's death? Not very well, no doubt. Just what Jager would probably want.  
  
I know of Jager's plan. Almost everyone does. Jeshickah for god's sake knows about it. The only one that does now of Jager's plan is Avalon.  
  
Jaguar had told me news earlier this morning which made me stalk out of his room. It would explain why I was so pissed off earlier. Jager told Jaguar that he had planned to give Avalon 4 years here, but he wants to take her out after her 17th birthday. That gave her a bit more than a year here. But considering what was going to happen within the next month, I doubt that Avalon will be mentally human in a year.  
  
Almost in tears of frustration, I lay back in my bed and scream out. I had wanted it to come out as a scream of anger, but it came out as one in pain. As soon as the air left my lungs, I had wanted to stop. Instead, I drew another breath and let my pain, and my anger sear my throat. The first one had just been surprising, but the second was blood curdling. The next one came out more of a loud sob, and the fourth threw me into turmoil.  
  
Never in my life had I felt so much pain. And never in Jaguar's, Turquoise's, or Lucia's lives have they heard such pain come from one so young. All of them now stood in my doorway, watching me cry my heart out.  
  
If I felt this just pain at the knowledge that my Avalon was leaving, I didn't even want to know how much pain I would feel when she actually left. 


	20. Chapter 20: Disturbed Reawakenings

Alright, we are month jumping again! Enjoy! And as for some readers, the joke is on you! Heh, sorry, couldn't resist Chelsea-Raye!  
  
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Two months later . . . .  
  
I felt so empty, my mind lost in the oblivion of pain. With Blaze's small body in my arms, I wept like I never wept before. Jager had killed him, letting his high pitched terror filled screams echo throughout the room. They still echoed in my ears. Blood covered my hands and my clothes but I was not even close to caring. All I thought about was Blaze. He was like my son; I loved him more than I loved my own life. I let my anguished filled shrieks leave my throat. No one would hear them anyway.  
  
Now, an hour after Blaze's cries have ended, an hour after the life had left his beautiful eyes, I felt anger as hot and uncontrolled as a forest fire. The anger touched every molecule of my body and tainted it. Jager had killed one of the few things I had let myself love in the past year. I laugh, the temporary loss of my sanity coming out clear in its harshness. It has been 13 months since I came to this horrible place called Midnight. And yet it seems like eternity.  
  
I missed my life. Now, as I weep for Blaze, my mind and memories fade away and release Nada out of her bindings. Avalon has left me, for now. She had loved no one. Every time Blaze would play with me, or Eric would come down to visit, Nada would catch a brief glance at what her life has become. But now she was out to stay. Avalon was not strong enough to not care about a small boy or a young man. In a way Nada was never really dead, now that I come to think about it. She was always just beneath the surface, and now it was Avalon that took her place.  
  
I have cried so much that I ran out of tears, if that is possible. Is it? I have no idea. But the continuous sobbing has left my throat raw and my body weak. I sink into the darkness, still cradling my son.  
  
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I have no idea how long I slept, and I have no recollection of being moved to my bed. But when I woke up, Blaze was no longer in my arms. Warm blankets were tucked around my body and my hair was damp. I had once again been cleaned without being awake to feel the cold water shock my skin or the scorching liquid make me jerk away in pain.  
  
There is no one else in the room. I have learned how to sense auras, incase you have not already known. Groggily, I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked around. There was something in the room that had not been there before. Although subtle, the white note lying where Blaze and I had been caught my eye. Sliding out of bed, I crawled over to it. The long crimson night shirt I had woken up in left my knees free to feel the plush rug.  
  
Picking up the note, I glanced over it once, and then once more. After the third time, I let my sob of surprise pass by my lips. Although no longer than a page, Eric had told me I would be leaving for New Mayhem in two months. But he thought of a way that I might be able to stay here. Then he asked me one question that a sixteen year old girl would not usually hear in this situation.  
  
The question fought for attention in my mind along with Blaze's death. My mind was still momentarily frozen, but those two thoughts thawed out and battled to be heard. I could not be sure how long it would take me to get over Blaze's death. Maybe never. And I was still getting used to seeing things in Nada's mind, and not the stone hard mind of Avalon.  
  
As Avalon I would look upon objects just as they were, but as Nada I would think of them as memories. To Avalon, the tub would just be a bathtub, where she would wash herself. To Nada, or me now I suppose, it was Blaze's favorite place to play hide and seek.  
  
Someone entered my room. But I was too engrossed in my thoughts to know who it was right away. When I looked up, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I held out my arms as if pleading to be caught. "Avalon?" I shook my head at the simple question.  
  
"Nada," I replied simply. Avalon was what Jager had created. Avalon was a monster. But monsters have weaknesses, and my true self has broken through the mold that Jager had so easily put me into.  
  
I was in Eric's arms a moment later, now crying once again. "Have you thought about my question?" I wasn't sure how to respond. I knew what he was planning if I replied the way I knew he wanted me to. I could be free. Or at least, our-  
  
"Yes." That was my response to his newest question. He held me as if I was glass, so fragile. My mind was, but my body was as strong as ever. He tensed as he heard no emotion in my answer.  
  
"What is your answer to it?" Was he certain that his plan was going to work? What if the strings of ownership went deeper than he knew?  
  
"Yes," I whispered into his ear and I felt a tear hit my cheek. He was crying. Of happiness. I have never thought of crying because you were happy, but I let myself do so as well. "Yes," I repeated, "I'll marry you."  
  
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Alright I'm sorry this was such a short chapter, but it is very important, as you could tell. This just popped into my head. And chapter 20 is always an important chapter! Although I doubt anyone likes this story anymore. And for those who liked Avalon, she is gone for now. And now there is Nada. She is back! She will still have an Avalonish attitude, don't worry! Next chapter is coming, but I'm about to pass out in tiresomeness. Is that even a word? Anyway, happy trails!  
  
Krikoris 


	21. Chapter 21: PreJourney to New Mayhem

Sorry, we are once again going to skip. But only two months, where stuff gets really interesting. This came and I could find nothing below rated R to stuff in between.*evil dirty grin* Enjoy!  
  
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Two Months later . . .  
  
It has been two months since I was married to Eric. Life itself had not really changed, but I do not care. I am in love with the kindest man on the planet. Or in Midnight, be that as it may. This morning, or night, I woke up to the sound of my mother, Dieta's, words echo in my ear. Nada, she would say, never go out with a boy unless you know his last name. And here I was, getting married to a boy who didn't even remember his own last name. I personally forgot my own the other day, but that is of no importance.  
  
The days after Blaze's death, I had gone into deep depression. I would not eat nor sleep. The only time I had talked for those few days was to Eric. I would not speak to Lucia, Jaguar, no one but my husband. I doubt that marriages can protect me, but it helped us create something so beautiful that I cry just thinking about it.  
  
"Checkmate." I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked at the board. Across from me, Eric smiled triumphantly. I wanted to hit him because he had that smug look on his face and kiss him because of how cute he looked. At the same time!  
  
"Damn you," I muttered as I knocked over all of my peices. I didn't even know which peice I was supposed to knock over anyway. That brought a smile to Eric's face and he leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips.  
  
"I still love you," he whispered, "Even if you can't play chess for your own life." I pulled away from him and felt my eyes tear up. "Oh, I'm sorry Nada." Ever since I had 'come back' from 'myself/the several months of inner struggle, as Eric called it' I had drew back from anything that involved losing life, even if it was meant as a joke.  
  
"It's alright!" I answered as I threw a chess peice that resembled a horse at him. Pretending to be hit hard, he fell over and laughed.  
  
"Seems that my Avalon has beat me to the kill." My head jerked up and I backed away as far as I could from the door. Had it been two months already? I suppose it had to be. Jager never came unless priorly announced. Eric seemed more surprised than scared. Slowly, he sat up and turned around, meeting my owner eye to eye. Doubt drowned my thoughts as I looked at the two most important things in my life. If Jager killed Eric, I would end my life so fast. But now I couldn't. I was helpless to stop Jager from hurting my husband. I know it must sound odd for a 16 year old, almost 17, to be saying husband, but you must agree that Midnight changes you.  
  
"Jager," I gasped after a few minutes of silence. Ever since I became Nada again, I forced myself not to fight back unless my life depended on it. And Eric's, and our-  
  
"The one and only," the green eyed vampire replied, his eyes pulling away from Eric and finally looking at me. I hated that leech like I never thought possible. He had acted like a vampire in love but has now turned into an emotionless beast. He had killed the one thing that made me turn back into who I was. Nada was not whom Jager wanted. He wanted Avalon. She was the thing Jager had created out of me and I swear on Blaze's grave that I would never let her see the light of day or the shadows of night again.  
  
"I didn't phrase it as a question," I snapped back, not bothering to hold my tongue. If I was Nada, then Nada I will stay. She had teased the undead and so will I. Surprise flickered across his face briefly before bending down and pulling Eric up by his hair.  
  
"What did you say kitten?" He hissed at me as he brought Eric's face inches from his own. Hatred consumed me and I slowly stood, shaking with emotion.  
  
"Put Eric down or I swear by the Goddess that you will regret not doing so." Jager's eyes widened and he gawked at me. I dont think he gawks at humans much. Eric seemed to turn pale, but his eyes did not leave Jager's.  
  
"By the Goddess," Jager whispered, "Hmm?" I continued to glare at him although he never took his eyes off of my lover.  
  
"Yes, the Goddess within me. The God in the sky. Spirit shall return your horrid deeds three fold!" That was the first time I had outwardly spoken anything of my religon, EVER. As a free blood I had kept it private, even from my friends. As a Midnight human I was smart enough to keep it to myself. But it had finally come out.  
  
"A human witch!?!" Jager growled as he threw Eric aside and came towards me. I had not thought about his reaction when my threat came out of my mouth. I fingered the dagger hilt that I kept under my clothes, just incase a moment like this had occured. "I have owned a human witch for over a year and was not aware of it!" He seemed to be talking to himself as he had my hair in his grip, pulling my head up to meet his gaze.  
  
"Yes, I prefer Wiccan, but if you wish to call me a witch, then go ahead." He backhanded me. He knew he had lost what he had created. What he did not know was what was growing inside me.  
  
"Nada, don't," I heard Eric plead from his spot. He had not been injured too bad, but he had not moved from where he had landed.  
  
"Nada, hmm?" Jager hissed in my ear as he tugged my hair once again. I pulled out the dagger and rammed it into Jager's stomach. Never in my life would I ever kill anything, even if it was already dead. I missed on purpose. Jager made an animal sound that made my cringe as he threw me next to Eric. I landed on my arm and winced. No, I looked again and saw it was Eric's arm I had landed on. Oops.  
  
"Sorry," I whispered in his ear just as Jaguar and a witch I have not met entered the room, or my cage, my world.  
  
"What is the meaning of this Jager?" Jaguar bellowed as he caught eye of Eric. Either Jaguar had never known Eric came down to see me or Jaguar was upset that Eric was hurt. Maybe both. But right now he was so mad I could sense it coming off in waves. The witch seemed to notice too. Suddenly her eyes met mine, then they drifted to my stomach.  
  
The two vampires seemed to see her looking at me and they stopped to look me over as well. Slowly, the woman made her way over to me and set her hands on my stomach. "The Light in your life grows within you." That seemed to catch Jager's, Jaguar's, and even Eric's attention. I had not told anyone of my child.  
  
"She's with child?" Jager's question seemed weak and fragile, as if he had been struck in the heart by the dagger I had driven into his immortal eternally healing body. The Smoke witch, her hand still on my stomach, turned her head just slightly to see Jager out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Carries the blood of the damned," she replied, which made both vampires flinch. The disgust in her voice made everyone take a better look at her. I could only assume that this woman was paid by Midnight, and it made me curious on how she could speak so sickly of them. "But the innocent overrules."  
  
"Her mother was a blood bond," Jaguar informed the witch, who seemed to be relieved to hear such. "But she is not, and neither is the father." The last word was directed at Eric, who seemed to blush and pale at the same time.  
  
"Well, how far is she into the pregnancy?" Jager asked, stuttering. I was shocked. Why did he seem to care so much? I hated him with every molecule in my body. He killed my son.  
  
"Are you still sick in the mornings?" She asked me and I nodded with a sick look on my face. I hated those mornings when I would throw up in the toilet. And I had asked for more food than usual, which was just more for me to lose later on in the day.  
  
"First trimester I would suspect. When did you find out you were pregnant?" I glanced over at Eric with blushed cheeks. His eyes were on Jaguar, and I could only imagine the anger Jaguar was feeling.  
  
"About a month and two weeks ago," I whispered. She seemed to understand that and patted my hand.  
  
"Five weeks into the pregnancy I see," the witch thought aloud, "Morning sickness started a little early didn't it?"  
  
"Guess so," I muttered. I had thought that if I ever got pregnant, my mother would have had a fit. I couldn't imagine telling her. And here I am, the news out to two vampires, my husband, and a witch. Guess your embarrasment tolerance goes up just a bit.  
  
"So my slave is pregnant with Jaguar's pet's child?" Jager roared as he glared at me, but I was no longer looking at him. It was Eric that caught my eye. He was shaking his head over and over, tears streaming down his cheeks. I wasn't sure what was wrong with him. I was scared.  
  
"I am not your slave," I snapped, and would have said more if it was not for the witch.  
  
"Be careful what you say Nada Tanata," she told me. "We do not wish you to be like Jazlyn Raisa." I had only an inkling on who that was, but I said nothing.  
  
"But you're coming to New Mayhem with me." I must have paled greatly. I felt as if I was slugged in the gut.  
  
"You can't!" I yelled at him, although I knew he could. Very easily.  
  
"I call blood," he whispered sadistically, gesturing to the knife wound I had given him. My mind reeled. They could not call blood here, Turquoise told me this. Jager smiled as he saw my doubt. "The treaty had a little perk. We are allowed to call blood here. And I call blood on you, Amaranta." He had not called me that in such a long time that I drew a blank for a moment. "You and your unborn child."  
  
"No!" Eric's head snapped up and glared in Jager's direction, disobediance in every breath. "You will not take our child."  
  
"Well, the thing is Eric," Jager whispered as he made his way towards him, a smile so evil on his face that I had to look away. "I get claim on all relatives, and you are her husband, are you not?" I heard Jaguar's sharp intake of breath and I felt the witch's grip on my hand tighten. When Eric did not respond, Jager pulled the boy several feet away from all of us, and when I saw Jager's fangs pierce Eric's neck, I screamed. I screamed as if my heart was being retched from my body.  
  
There was no doubt in my mind that Jager had not given Eric mercy. Eric was almost screaming in pain a minute later. I saw his body struggle, trying to get away from Jager's grip. Eric's elbow rammed into Jager's stomach and he was able to pull away. Jager hissed in anger and gripped Eric's hair, then backhanded him twice before throwing him to the floor.  
  
My lover tried to get up and when he was on his hands and knees, Jager's boot came up from under Eric and collided with the human ribs. A small gasp of surprise left Eric's lips before he collapsed on the floor. Once again Jager gripped his neck and pulled him up, and Eric's hands were desperately trying to pry the steel grip off of him. "A year ago, I had wanted to kill you, and now it looks like I am getting the chance." With that being said, Jager once again bit into Eric and he finally let out one scream, although it was barely louder than a whisper. Blood was dripping out of his nose and from his lip. I also saw a river of blood coming from under Eric's tangled hair and a spot of the crimson liquid on his shirt. If I did not know any better, it was obvious that a rib had protruded out of Eric's skin and caused bleeding. I did not even want to think about internal bleeding.  
  
I was in tears now. The witch forced my gaze away from Eric. "You will live in New Mayhem with Jager until your give birth. Then your love will come and save you."  
  
I heard a thump on the rug and I pulled my gaze away from the Smoke to see Jaguar kneeling next to Eric. I had known that Jaguar was very tempted to not change the human that he thought of as a son. But that did not seem relevant now. Jaguar glared at Jager, who was now across the room, before cutting his own neck with the dagger I had stabbed Jager with. I had to look away when Jaguar brought Eric's lips to his neck.  
  
"Come now Amaranta," Jager growled as he pulled me from the witch's grasp and yanked me to my feet. I knew that Jaguar could not to anything to Jager about Eric. Tiger Tiger was rather desciptioned about calling blood. Just because Jager almost killed Eric did not mean Jaguar could kill him. It was the right of blood claim.  
  
I was still sobbing as I saw Jaguar lay Eric down on the floor, my lover's skin as pale as death. The witch followed behind me and Jager as we left the basement. The light was so blinding that I crumbled to the ground, my free hand covering my eyes. Jager just kept pulling me along until we got to a car. He pushed me into the front seat, let the witch get into the back before he got into the driver's seat and sped off.  
  
All the way, I sobbed. Eric has died and has been reborn into one of the night. Lucia does not know about my child, and she will not know where I have gone. I covered my head as much as I could to hide from the sun. It seemed to try to greet me back to the world of light but I did not want to be here. I would rather be in my prison with my love rather than out in the sun without him.  
  
And this is where Nada and Amaranta begin to fight for domination over my child.  
  
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I know! I never thought that was coming! I am shocked. Please review! Warning the next few chapters are what I call "Thrillers" Each chapter reveals something shocking to add to the plot. I know this was pretty odd in itself, but the next ones are full of suspense and stuff. Umm yeah.  
  
Krikoris 


	22. Brief chapter break for INTERVIEWS!

Hello everybody! Since the last chapter has raised questions and some major emotions in my characters, Amelia's characters, and maybe some of you readers, I believe that it is time for something to ease the tension and answer some questions.  
  
Here, I shall interview several of the characters that have been currently involved. True, these characters seem to be doing things without reason, and they should have reasons for their actions. Here, in these interviews, I hope to cooperate with these vampires, shifters, witches, and humans to clear up those confused issues.  
  
Before we continue, I must apologize to those who believe that I have ruined the story. I never plan a plot. I just write, pull over spell checker and save it on my crimson floppy disk. Of course I reread it before I post it to make sure I have not missed a spell check or grammikal (I like it spelled that way) error. Please enjoy the brief meetings with the characters of Disturbed Awakenings and if you all enjoy these, please say so so I can arrange more. If you have a personal question for one of my characters, ask as well. As for Amelia's characters, I'll try to fit into their schedules.  
  
Without further adue, I present to you the Disturbed Awakening Interviews. Maybe Part one. Depends on how you respond.  
  
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Krikoris: Alright ladies and gentlemen, first off we have Nada Tanata, also known as Amaranta or Avalon. Mrs. Tanata, which name do you prefer?  
  
Mrs. Tanata: Nada is fine, Krikoris. That is my name by birth.  
  
Krikoris: Alright then Nada, how did you feel when you saw your husband being killed and being unable to help him?  
  
Nada: Well, thank you for putting it so blandly Krikoris.*eerie silence* Would you prefer Ms. Kriticos?  
  
Krikoris: Oh no, Krikoris is just fine Nada.  
  
Nada: Then Krikoris, I can only assume you read how it felt in the story? *arches brow*  
  
Krikoris: Certainly Nada! *laughs nervously* Let me ask another question then?  
  
Nada: Go on. *smirks*  
  
Krikoris: How did it feel to get those huge two things off of your chest? *Nada gives me another arched brow* Your religon and the fact that you were withchild.  
  
Nada: Ah yes. I was thrilled *coughs after her extremely sarcastic comment* Seriously, I felt horrible. Sure, it felt as if a ton of stone was lifted off of my shoulders, but look what it resulted in.  
  
Krikoris: True Nada. But Jager could have blood bonded you right then and your child could have been bonded just as bad as you.  
  
Nada: You seem to pick out the truths of my faults.  
  
Krikoris: I did write the story.  
  
Nada: Good point.  
  
Krikoris: I am almost out of time with you Nada, but let me ask two more questions before we bring out our next guest.  
  
Nada: Go on.  
  
Krikoris: Question one. What did you feel when you were dragged out into the sun after you have not seen it so clearly for over a year?  
  
Nada: *gestures to the sunglasses covering her eyes* I went blind, like a bat thrown into the light. Or maybe an owl.  
  
Krikoris: Last question then?  
  
Nada: Alright, proceed.  
  
Krikoris: Why on Earth did you decide to 'marry' Eric? As one of my favorite reviewers mentioned, Midnight does not really care for slave marriages.  
  
Nada: *smiles sadly* Yes, that is a good question. I am sure many of your readers have thought about it. Well, *puts hands on her lap and stares at me* We knew that I would be sent to New Mayhem no matter what we did. But if we were married and somehow concieved a child, the child would belong to Jaguar more than to Jager. Considering that Jaguar both owned Eric and I at least for two months at the same time, and the child was bound to Midnight by Eric's blood. That way Jager will have to give the child to Jaguar because it is more Jaguar's than his. I know it is somehwhat naive, but we were desperate. I hope I answered at least one question.  
  
Krikoris: You sure answered some of mine Nada. Well *shakes Nada's hand* Pleasure to speak with you this evening.  
  
Nada: Pleasure was all mine Krikoris. Oh, for that one question in the very beginning of this scheme, my hair is shiny and silky thanks to Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner. That and a special ingredient I am hesitant to expose. *smirks myseteriously*  
  
Krikoris:*laughs* There you have it! Once again, I thank Nada and Herbal Essence for assisting me on this interview!  
  
**  
  
Krikoris: Ok, I am sure all of you Jager lovers have been awaiting this, as have I. *twirls some of my cornsilk blue hair nervously* Yeah, we seem to be having trouble communicating, Jager and I. Outer species thing he tells me.  
  
Jager: Why do I have to talk to you exactly?  
  
Krikoris: Well, who introduced you to Nada?  
  
Jager: Jaguar.  
  
Krikoris: No, me. You have to answer these questions or else I will stop writing this story.  
  
Jager: *seems to actually think about it* I suppose...what kind of questions?  
  
Krikoris: *Seems a bit nervous, considering that Jager is a vampire and that he seems to be a bit out of character, even for this fic* Like, what is so special about Nada?  
  
Jager: THAT is simple. *runs fingers through his brown hair* She has the same alluring aura that Risika was known for as well as Aubrey when they were alive.  
  
Krikoris: But she is blood bonded. Meaning she is not yours by blood. Do you suppose her aura is a result of the blood bonding she was put into as a child?  
  
Jager: No. *glares at me* She is a special human, blood bonded or not.  
  
Krikoris: *visibly shaken* Well then, now that you have openly admitted that you love her....  
  
Jager: *grips my shirt and pulls me to him* I did NOT say that you stupid girl...*throws me back into my chair* I have decided to train her to become a vampire, which I consider a priveledge under my tutoring.  
  
Krikoris: *continues shaking* Alright Jager, if you insist. *draws back incase he tries to do anything else* Next question. Why did you kill Eric?  
  
Jager: I did not kill that stupid pest. I kicked the living crap out of him, all but bled him to death, but I did not kill him. And as for WHY I did so, that is also simple. I hate him.  
  
Krikoris: So he was no threat to your plan to turn Nada, our previous guest, into a vampire?  
  
Jager: No, no human slaves are a threat. He was simply an annoyance. And I had him screwed over by blood claim. Who would take advantage of that?  
  
Krikoris: Point taken. How did it feel?  
  
Jager: Really good. Especially the look on Jaguar's face after I dropped him to the ground.  
  
Krikoris: I am sure it was great. *suppresses eye roll* So, what was your real reaction to Nada's pregnancy?  
  
Jager: Not very well. I would show you how I felt but it might turn out that you won't survive to continue these seemingly pointless interviews.  
  
Krikoris: That is enough mister. Please do not threaten me.  
  
Jager: You gonna do something about it?  
  
Krikoris: I have connections to an author who knows Madrina Macht. Unless you want your head on my fireplace, you will shut it.  
  
Jager: Fine, don't get your panties in a twist.  
  
Krikoris: That is my saying!  
  
Jager: Whatever.  
  
Krikoris: Now, as a reviewer must have emphasized enough and I too am curious, why do you want to make Nada/Avalon hate you? You are not better off.  
  
Jager: I want Amaranta to be able to hate. Sure, I'm a bit sadistic. But what ancient vampires arent? Back to the question. True, it is not helping me at the moment. But if she hates me deeply with every molecule in the lean body of hers, when I change her, she will fight me as hard as she can. And she is a strong one I tell you. As I have said, the hatred she is building up is good for me in the long run. Not in the short one of course.  
  
Krikoris: Your perceptions of long and short are rather twisted for those readers out there...  
  
Jager: True.  
  
Krikoris: Alright, that is enough for you. Thanks for the interview and get out so I can continue.  
  
Jager: Fine *gives the readers a seducive glance* See you all later...  
  
Krikoris: Get out! *swoons on the inside*  
  
**  
  
Krikoris: Alright! Let's see...*consults schedule* Looks like we have Adrian up next.  
  
Flare: You mean me, right?  
  
Krikoris: *Almost has a heart attack* No! I had no intention to interview you but since Adrian is not here right now I suppose I could ask a few questions from the top of my head.  
  
Flare: Alright, shoot.  
  
Krikoris: How long have you had Dieta Tanata in your possesion?  
  
Flare: I do not remember. She is dead now isn't she? Why does it matter?  
  
Krikoris: Point taken. Ok....umm how did you locate Dieta?  
  
Flare: Simple. A trainer can track down their slaves, just as Jaguar was able to find Eric if he ever went to look for him of course. I was in Lithuania and decided to find her for some fun. I had no idea she had actually bore a child.  
  
Krikoris: When you called blood on Avalon, did you seriously think you were able to?  
  
Flare: Seriously, it was out before I could stop it. I had no idea you could actually call blood there in Midnight.  
  
Krikoris: So when you came to Midnight, you were doing what?  
  
Flare: Buying a new slave.  
  
Krikoris: Blaze?  
  
Flare: Sure.  
  
Krikoris: How do you know Adrian?  
  
Flare: We shared a cell for a few months in the old Midnight and he was changed a week or so before I was.  
  
Krikoris: Can you recall your birth name?  
  
Adrian: He is too stupid to remember.  
  
Krikoris: *almost has another attack* Adrian! Please go through that damn door! It is there for a reason you know....  
  
Adrian: Sorry love. *kisses my cheek and sits down where Flare had been a moment before*  
  
Krikoris: *blushes* Well, forgiven I suppose. Anyway! How do you feel about the death of the one thing that kept you sane those months in Midnight?  
  
Adrian: You are really blunt aren't you?  
  
Krikoris: Bad habit.  
  
Adrian: Forgiven. Anyway, I was really heartbroken. Changed my views on many things.  
  
Krikoris: Which we might see in the future?  
  
Adrian: Perhaps.  
  
Krikoris: I get the hint. So, some readers think you are Jeshickah's creation. True or False?  
  
Adrian: False. I am the blood brother of Jaguar and Flare, but I am the creation of Jeshickah's sister, Katama.  
  
Krikoris: Fascinating!  
  
Adrian: Yep.  
  
Krikoris: Now, final question. What are your feelings toward Nada now after she has been taken to New Mayhem?  
  
Adrian: Mixed I suppose. I am glad that she finally got out of my way, I am upset that Jager got her before I really could, and a bit sad that she had to be taken from Eric so soon after he found out he was a father.  
  
Krikoris: A bit soft now are we?  
  
Adrian: *glare/smirk*  
  
Krikoris: Well thank you for your time Adrian.  
  
Adrian: Anytime love.  
  
**  
  
Krikoris: Final interview! Lucia De Fiaro, shapeshifter!  
  
Lucia: Thank Krikoris.  
  
Krikoris: No problem.  
  
Lucia: So, nice thing you got going here.  
  
Krikoris: Thank you Lucia.  
  
Lucia: Alright, I got to go back to Midnight soon, as you know, to tend to Eric. Please try to quicken this up.  
  
Krikoris: No problem. Alright, how close are you to Nada?  
  
Lucia: Like sisters, to me at least. I had snuck Eric down to her for countless amounts of times and although we never really talked to each other while she was down in the basement, I kept her company when she was kept in the room upstairs in the west wing.  
  
Krikoris: I see, how do you feel about your brother like figure being changed?  
  
Lucia: Heart breaking. It is somehwhat hard to talk about it now. I thought it was bad to have Nada taken away from me, and her child that I did not know about. Knowing that my brother had died at the hands of Jager makes me weep and scream in anger at the same time. Very painful  
  
Krikoris: Understandable.  
  
Lucia: And now Jaguar is upset as well. He feels guilty and angry at the same time. Very confusing.  
  
Krikoris: What exactly were you meaning when you said you need to tend to Eric?  
  
Lucia: You see, even though Eric is a vampire now, we need to make sure that someone such as Gabriel or Jeshickah, try to get him out of the way now. He might be a threat to them later, but he is just a dead vampire sleeping a bit too quietly in a room....  
  
Krikoris: I see, Alright I will let you go now right after I ask you a brief question.  
  
Lucia: Yes?  
  
Krikoris: What do you think of Adrian?  
  
Lucia: *blushes* No comment  
  
Krikoris: Thank you.  
  
***************  
  
Thank you for your time, please review, and I will soon update for chapter 22!! 


	23. Chapter 22: Eric's Awakening

Alright thank you to all who reviewed! I admit the characters were a bit out of character but it was really a time for the characters and me to just loosen up. Anyway, as depressing this is, I must do a chapter in Eric's new POV. I am not sure if people wished Eric to become a vampire, but that is how it happened. I have no control over my imagination. Well, this is in Eric's POV. Please enjoy.  
  
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Two days later.....  
  
I am no longer human. That sends a pain so sharp into my heart that I scream out each time I think of it. A bit dramatic, I know, but I am to remain looking like an 18 year old boy forever. I look just as old as Jager, and yet I fear him still. He took my blood and Jaguar had changed me.  
  
Nathaniel had heard of my change and came to visit me yesterday. I had screamed at him to leave me. I have only talked to Lucia, who does not verbally pity me.  
  
When I had woken up, I had drank from Jaguar once again. I refused to kill a human when I was so new to the world I had lived in and yet never unlived. And now here I was, one of the things that I used to be a pet to.  
  
Everything, who I was, what had happened, had been foggy to me when I had awoken. But over the brief time since, everything has come back to me. Nada, my wife, my human wife. Or maybe she is a vampire now. I do not know. Jager had taken her and might have turned her into the younger version of Jazlyn, Ash Night's mother. But maybe that Smoke witch is protecting her, I am not sure.  
  
And my child. The child I did not know existed. We had made love and I never thought much about it until now.But the day I was changed, I had been shocked to find out that a child that shared my blood was growing inside Nada for almost two months. She must have gotten pregnant the night of our "Honeymoon".  
  
And now I have been changed into a vampire. For obvious reasons, I am grateful that Jaguar, who has been like my father, changed me. I could now choose whether to live or die by my own choice, see my wife and maybe my child, and get revenge on Jager. But I hated Jaguar because he has given me no choice but to die damned. I should not believe in damnation, I am not very religous, but I do. And now if I wish to die, I must do it by my own hand and die damned, shunned by the God so many people believe is watching over us.  
  
Turning over in my bed, I pray to that God. "Please, if you are there, protect my wife and child from Jager. I am not sure he means to do her harm but I am still asking you to please care for the two most important things in my life."  
  
"I think that God of yours might need a little help." Once again turning over, I see a puffy eyed Lucia. She has spoken tear choked and I wished I could go and hug her, comfort her, but I could not. Not when I myself needed comfort.  
  
"Come sit next to me," I whispered. I saw her look at me a bit hesitantly. My eyes had changed to black and I was still too young to change them. I was now perfected. A Midnight vampire. "That hurts you know," I muttered, turning away from her. I heard her sigh and walk behind me. Like a mother, she wrapped her arms around me, then made me turn so that our eyes connected.  
  
It was easy to see that she had recently been in her animal form. Her eyes were still the color of a wild tiger. "I'm sorry. I should not be so selfish. You are in more pain than I. You have had your wife and child stolen from you." I nodded, suddenly too choked up to speak. I was still too human for vampire standards. "I will help you get them back, I promise. I swear on Blaze's grave that we will get Nada and your child back."  
  
"Thank you," I stuttered, silent tears creeping down my cheeks. "I miss her already."  
  
"So do I, and it has only been two days. I do not wish to know what she is doing at this moment. All I wish is that she is unharmed and still alive." She kissed me sisterly on the top of my head before setting her head on my shoulder.  
  
Although Lucia is now 20 years old, she still acts like she is a teenager. During Nada's imprisionment in the basement, I spent all my spare time with Lucia. We had become like sister and brother. But now one of us was dead. Dead like her uncle. And yet so alive that they breathed, although they did not need to, spoke, saw, felt, heard, and tasted.  
  
"Me too," I stroked her cheek with my fingers, trailing over stains of tears over her bronze skin.  
  
"Eric, I must speak with you about something." I winced when I heard the voice of my bloodfather, Jaguar. He had not spoken to me since he had let me feed from him.  
  
"I'll see you later brother," Lucia whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek and standing up. I heard her hesitation when she past by Jaguar.  
  
"Now, Eric," Jaguar began as he gripped my shoulder and turned me around to see him. His face was traced with anger, sadness, and confusion. "I know this whole vampire thing is hard for you. You have gone from a slave into a Midnight vampire. What you do after this is up to you. You could move close to New Mayhem, where I am sure a witch named Madrina Macht will take care of you. Until you get used to this. I cannot help you now. As much as I am glad that I do not have to watch you die, I am upset as a father figure that you have been changed into what I am.  
  
"Ever since I brought you into my ownership 7 years ago, I had thought of you as a son. I trusted you, I still do, I still love you like a son. But I always wished that you would never become what I was. I never wanted you to become a vampire. I never wanted to see blood on your lips. But I decided when I saw you near death two days ago that I did not want you to die right then. If I could save you for just a few more days. I would."  
  
He sighed and I could see the sadness in his gaze. "And because of all of this, I ask for your forgiveness. If I had never gotten that treaty signed, Nada might still be here with us, with you, and her child could be close to its father. If I never got this treaty signed, you might still be human."  
  
I was once again in tears. I have cried to much lately that I have almost run out of tears. I could feel it. "I don't want your request for forgiveness," I replied, which made Jaguar look away. "I cannot accept forgiveness from you." I heard the hatred in my voice and I swallowed. I was still breathing, just like Jaguar was. Human habits die hard. "Not now, when I need help." That made him look up at me, two pairs of black eyes connecting for a split second.  
  
"You want me to bring Nada back now do you?" His gaze melted into pity. I did not want pity. I hated pity. Now was not the time to give pity when I was in need to bring back my wife and unborn child.  
  
With strength I had gained from my vampiric blood, I shoved Jaguar away from me. I was oddly strong as young as I was. As I had my blood drained, I had fought as much as I could. It had only resulted in broken ribs, a cracked skull, and losts of blood loss. I would have died without Jaguar's blood.  
  
With vampires, you can gain more strength the more you fought as your blood was taken from your body. I had fought greatly, yet had failed miserably. I suppose now I had gained great strength. But I did not want it. I wanted to be human, be able to grow old and die. But that was not going to happen to me.  
  
"I do not want your pity," I spat at him, emphasizing the last word as if it was an insect. Jaguar seemed completely shocked. I had talked back and shoved him. He, a vampire decades old, was being pushed away by a vampire he himself had created not a week earlier.  
  
And he was losing.  
  
Jaguar seemed either too shocked or too angered to speak. His mind hit mine and it felt as if my veins were on fire. I took a step back and glared at him before he turned and left the room, almost colliding with one of the few people that I thought would never even bother going down this hallway.  
  
"I see that you are a bit stronger than Jager expected." I continued to glare, but some of my anger softened for some reason. I had no idea why. I hated Adrian just as much as the next. "Stronger than my blood-brother expected as well it seems."  
  
"Why are you here Adrian?" I growled as he came into my room. I was still staying in my room in the slave hallway and was to be moved into the west wing the next day. But I, as reluctant as I was to stay here, was somewhat upset to move from the human to vampire. Both in room and mind.  
  
"I heard that you wanted to go and get your precious wife and child back," he began and I was shocked to hear no sarcasm. "I have thought this over and now, that you are a vampire and everything, that it would be a good idea to get on your good side while your at your weakest point in your future unlife." That made sense, I thought to myself. He wanted to make an ally while I was still weak. That way he wouldn't have to be uncomfortable later on if he wanted to ally me when I was stronger.  
  
"And you have a plan?" I prodded as he leaned against the doorframe and gestured vaguely with his left hand. It was odd, how we looked the same age, and yet were so drastic in age difference that it amused me  
  
"Yes, but it might not appeal to you if you are planning to get her tomorrow." I sat down on my bed and gestured to the chair I moved in there last year. He had caught my attention.  
  
"You have my attention." 


	24. Chapter 23: New Mayhem in the eyes of th...

Alrightoz! Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, I really appreciate it. Considering this is actually my first ITFOTN fic ever posted, it really is touching to know people enjoy this. To come and think of it, I was listening to the T.A.T.U song if I remember correctly when I had the first words come to mind. 'Get up.' Anyway, this is Nada's POV. Enjoy and review!!! *******************************************************  
  
I hate this place. This city. I despise it more than I do Jager himself. I am allowed to roam freely in this place they call New Mayhem. There is no one that can share the pain that I feel day to day.  
  
The only relatively safe place I have is a house owned by a witch named Madrina Macht. She is like the grandmother I never had. I have been here two months and the time I spend with her is life ambrosia to my weakening soul.  
  
I am four months into my pregnancy and I can now see the growing of my stomach. Madrina and her vampire aquantices are delighted. Those are the few vampires that I can enjoy talking with. One used to be an Arun witch, she tells me. Another used to fight what he was and ended up killing Ash Night's mother in order to save the Arun vampire. Then there is Aubrey's younger brother, Maverick. Rabe, Kairbre, and Maverick. Those are my undead friends. And I admit I am growing attached to them.  
  
I began walking "home" one day when it began downpouring. I am not sure why I have not tried running away out of New Mayhem. I remember Eric telling me once that vampires know their slaves auras and so it would be easy to track the slave down if it decided to run away. Maybe that is what keeps me here. Maybe it is my slowly growing friendships with the species which caused this all to happen. I do not know.  
  
Not wanting to get my child nor me sick, I look around for the closest public area around. I would not like to be caught in a private home. When I saw the only public place, I cursed and made my way toward it, the rain already causing me to shiver violently. It is already mid November.  
  
Cautiously, I pushed open the doors to Las Noches. The music and the lights no longer bother me, as they did the day Jager dragged me in here. I had nearly passed out.  
  
Finding the closest table, I sat down and tried to ring out my hair. My stomach made it slightly difficult to get close to the table. But no one seemed bothered anymore. Except for two vampires, or vampiresses I should say.  
  
I had been told by my vampire friends that those two were not to be reckoned with. Rabe had admitted to getting her arm handed to her several times, but was rescued by her love, Maverick. Fala had almost killed Ash Night, known around here as Jessica, but Aubrey had given her his blood. And Moira had beaten Rabe up as well. I heard they also had a thing for not liking pregnant humans taken in by vampires. Kairbre told me that Jessica's mother had been pregnant as a vampire, and she had been turned back into a human with the help of the late Monica Smoke. That was where Fala's deep hate for Jessica had begun to blossom.  
  
Smoke. I looked around and saw my guardian Loreena Smoke speaking with the blood bonded bartender known as Kaei. She was also bound to Jager, but by blood and not by ownership. She had set the town of Mayhem on fire a good few hundred years ago and was bound to Jager as punishment from Silver. I have not met this Silver and hope I never do. In times where I was found crying myself to sleep in the lavish room Jager had given me, I wished that Kaei had succeded in destroying this place for eternity.  
  
"Did you hear about the shifter?" I decided to eavesdrop on a conversation between two vampires at the table next to me. Vampire around here have learned not to bother trying to injure me or speak with me in public. Jager had killed a vampire who tried to do so a few moments after I stepped into this place for the first time.  
  
"Yeah, she took care of the vamp that tried to feed off of her no longer than ten minutes after she stepped into here." Good for her, I thought sadly to myself as I leaned back in my chair.  
  
"She took care of him in human form too, better not mess with her while she is here." Just thinking about shifters brought my mind to Lucia, who, whether she knew it or not, was the godmother of my child. And everytime I thought about Lucia, I thought about my husband. How I missed him so. How I just wanted to feel his skin next to mine, his lips caressing my skin. Tears form in my eyes just thinking of him. He had become a vampire, right in front of me. Jager had almost killed him and left Jaguar no choice but to change him. I wonder what will happen when my child is born. I wonder what my love is doing now. I wonder what my shifter friend is doing now. Is she romping with Jaguar in the garden? I do not know.  
  
I hate Jager. I cannot express that enough. He had thrown me into darkness, killed Nada, turned her into a monster, killed Blaze infront of my eyes, all but killed my husband, and then thrusted me into this city they call New Mayhem. I do not even know how old I am anymore. 17 maybe? I look about just the same age as any vampire here, but that is only by looks. Not their eyes or their minds. Black covers the humanity in the eyes of the damned and their minds hold no pity for a young pregnant human.  
  
"Oh here comes that shifter," one of the vampires close to me whispered before cautiously and casually moving away from me. All the other vampires moved a bit, but I did not move. Why would a shifter want to kill me? I was just human. I was nothing. How ironic. My name meant everything here. I was an Untouchable here. I could not be touched without the tingling fear of death.  
  
"Are you Nada Tanata?" That voice. It echoed in my ears just like it had so many times before. I was still shivering and soaked, luckily. Otherwise others might have been able to see my tears.  
  
"That I am," I replied strongly, wiping my face as if something had gotten into my eye. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder and I turned to see bronze flesh. I almost broke down right then. But I could not.  
  
"My very life is at risk, seeing you. But I could not go much longer without bringing my best friend news of Midnight and her husband." I gripped her hand and spun to face her. Although her head was cloaked by a deep crimson hood and her body covered by a cloak, I knew it was Lucia. She knew me and I knew that voice. I heard it in my dreams.  
  
"Let's go elsewhere to talk," I whispered as though I told her to be quiet because a teacher was keeping an eye on me. I suppose it was like that in a way. The other vampires would begin to wonder what a killer shifter would want to talk to a pregnant 17 year old human about.  
  
Together we made our way outside and into the hotel room Lucia had been using for the past few hours. As we sat down on the bed, she handed me a towel. "Your freezing and soaked," she informed me as if I had no idea. Then, when she was my face, she smiled. "Sorry." I knew that was an apology for many things. Like not being there when I was taken, for not coming sooner, and for the news she was about to give me.  
  
"It's ok Lucia," I replied, drying myself off. As I did so, Lucia caught eye of my slightly larger stomach and arched a brow. "What's wrong?" Bad things came to my mind instantly. Did she think my child was dead?  
  
"Your stomach just looks a little big." I had to laugh, but it came out harsher than I had expected. Both of us winced.  
  
"Isn't is supposed to look like this at 4 months?" Knowing she wouldn't know the answer, I asked her that. I did not think she ever saw a pregnant human before. I have no idea. I haven't been with her for very long.  
  
"I guess so," she answered, a teasing smile playing across her lips. "So, I believe we should make this meeting short." When I frowned, she added, "I doubt Jager will think twice before killing a shifter on his ground." She was right, and I nodded.  
  
"Right." I swallowed and ran my fingers through my damp hair. It had grown and I had let it do so. Now it reached my ears. "What's news of Midnight?"  
  
I was probably the most confused human on the planet. Here I was, 15 years old and being plucked out of my life, then thrown into a place filled with creatures I never knew existed. After four months of that I was thrown into a basement and all but tortured for a year. Then I got pregnant and married, my husband was now a vampire, and I now live in New Mayhem. I do not know where I belong. It seems forever that I have been a normal teenager. I had loathed Midnight, but now I am yearning to return back to the place I now call home. This place . . .I feel for it like I had felt about Midnight. Was I going to be reluctant to return to my husband and stay here with the vampires of Mayhem?  
  
"Eric and Jaguar now loath each other." That seemed pretty hard for Lucia to say. Those two had been like father and son, and because of what Jaguar did to Eric, they hate one another. And Lucia loved Jaguar like a father and Eric like a brother. It must have been hard to try to be on both of their good sides. "Turquoise has moved into town with Nathaniel." I arched a brow. That was the last thing I had expected. When she saw my reaction, she looked away. "Turquoise and Ravyn took Jeshickah down last month." I almost jumped out of my seat in delight. Finally, the bitch who kicked my ass had gotten what she had deserved.  
  
"But that doesn't explain why Turquoise is with Nathaniel." I had never met this Nathaniel, but I knew him to be one of Jeshickah's fledglings and a dear friend to Turquoise and Eric.  
  
"Yes it does." She had my attention and I leaned forward as far as I could. "Turquoise lost too much blood to survive."  
  
"As a human," I added, almost too shocked to say anything. Turquoise was a vampire now. That was a slug to the gut. "Who gave her blood?"  
  
"Nathaniel," Lucia snapped, obviously wishing to change subjects. I grimaced. I wished I could say something to Lucia in attempt to make her feel better about losing another friend to the shadows. Turquoise has fallen into shadow. (A/N: For those who have seen LOTR, I stole that shadow thing from it. Neveada and I suspect they said 'fallen into shadows' about a million times during the movies. Anyway, had to add it. Just saw Twin Towers a few hours ago. Now let's continue.)  
  
"What about Ravyn?" That didn't seem to be a good thing either but it pulled away from Turquoise, the first human I had seen when I had been brought into Midnight. She was like a mother to me. My mother. I fought back tears. I knew she was dead for good now. All I could hope was that Flare took care of Terry as well. I just wish I could have taken care of my step father by myself.  
  
"Gabriel's fledgling now." That made me cease breathing for a brief moment. Two of the best human vampire hunters in the area had taken down the Vampiress of Midnight. They had destroyed a vampire but ended up creating two more whether they knew it or not. Seems as if the vampire population in Midnight had taken a dramatic increase since I left.  
  
"And Eric?" That was the hardest for me to ask, but it seemed to be easier for my shifter friend. She finally looked at me and smiled. She actually looked like the smile was real and not a pasted on one. Putting her hand on my shoulder, she looked into my eyes.  
  
"He is stronger than Jaguar." Was that supposed to be good? I suppose so because she looked happy. "And he has a plan to bring you and your child back home." There seemed to be something behind that fact of happiness. I was almost in tears of happiness, glad that he had not forgotten me. But Lucia was holding something back from me.  
  
"And?" I coaxed. Lucia seemed to be reluctant to actually answer me. I looked her straight in the eye. "Lucia, you need to tell me. This is supposed to be a short visit and you are with-holding information that you should not be holding from me.  
  
She sighed and held my gaze. "Adrian is working with Eric on the plan." If the fact that Turquoise was a vampire slugged me in the gut, then this felt like a stake through the heart. What was Eric thinking? I was rather confused on why he would work with Adrian. I no longer hated Adrian as much as I had a year ago. He was simply just annoying now. All my hate was reserved for Jager.  
  
"I see," I whispered. "I cannot understand Eric's logic in that, but I am not a vampire, nor a male. So I suppose it is a good idea, vampire logic." That seemed to sting both of us.  
  
"What is your news? What should I tell Eric?" I pulled away from Lucia's grip and stood up. Over these few minutes I had seemed to dry off a bit, but I needed to brave the storm once more. As long as I was back at Jager's by midnight, I was fine. Glancing at the clock, it was ten of eleven. Plenty of time and yet I felt as if my time has run out. And I was hungry. Seemed as if I was always hungry these days. I was eating for two now, as those cheesy movies always said. (A/N: Anyone ever see that butter commercial when that woman tells her husband she is pregnant? He says that in that commercial as well. That was the stupidest . . Anyway, let's continue)  
  
"Tell him that I am fine and so is our child. Tell Eric that I love him and think about him everday. Then ask him what was going through his head when he decided to work with Adrian, and that I await my white knight to rescue me from the tower." Lucia seemed embarrased to be hearing this, when she knew I wanted to say more but more personal things to him. Like 'I miss you in bed,' or 'I miss your touch, your voice, everything about you makes me yearn in desire.' Or something along those lines.  
  
"Will do Nada." Lucia came to me and embraced me, or attempted to. My stomach got in our way. We laughed and she kissed my forehead. "May the Goddess keep you safe." And with that, I turned and left the room.  
  
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I was back at Jager's house about half an hour early. Luckily he was not at the house. I suspected he would not be back for another hour or so. He is never here earlier than midnight. I thought about going to Las Noches to visit Kairbre, but he was at a bash no doubt. And Rabe was probably out with Maverick somewhere on this earth. They enjoyed dining exotically.  
  
I opened my door and found myself looking straight at Madrina and Loreena. I hesitated for a minute or so as I saw both of them looking at me. How could they look so young and so wise? I knew Madrina was quite old, but she looked no older than 30 in the dimmed lighting. "Nada, please come in," Loreena invited me.  
  
"Why would you need to invite me into my own room?" I snapped. She was used to my irritability. It seemed to rise when I was here.  
  
"We need to talk to you about your child." Oh no. My heart sank as I obediently entered the room. I then sat in a chair that sat across from the bed in which the two witches were sitting on.  
  
"What about it?" I asked shakily.  
  
"It's something you might or might not be happy to hear, depending on your perspective." I was almost in tears. This baby was the last I had of Eric. No matter how long Eric and I were together, we could never have children together. And if these two tried to tell me that I had lost my child, that the baby I carried no longer breathed, I would die.  
  
"Go on with it Madrina," I whispered. She seemed to be the happier of the two. Maybe that was because she had never been in Midnight before. Maybe it was because she did not want me to carry a vampire's child. But I had no idea and so I kept silent.  
  
"It has come to our attention that your stomach is rather large for the time of pregnancy you are in." That was odd, Lucia commented on that too.  
  
"It would be considered large if you were carrying one child." I locked eyes with Loreena and I felt myself pale, my heart quicken pace, and my breath get faster. Were they saying that . .  
  
"What are you getting at?" I asked softer than a whisper. I knew I could not stand up, my legs were in the jelly-like state they had been in when I had walked into the breakfast of the vampires the day I met Jager.  
  
"It seems as if you are carrying two children," Madrina told me with a wide smile on her face. I felt hot tears stream down my face. I knew I was smiling too, but I was too happy to even consider that.  
  
"Eric doesn't know," Loreena added. "He will be thrilled to see two children instead of one when he comes to take you back from here." This was a shocker. Even hard as a rock Loreena Smoke seemed to soften to herself into the witch I met two months ago in the basement of Midnight.  
  
"I wish Eric could know right now," I stammered, leaning back in my chair. No words could describe the happiness and excitement I felt at that moment. It felt as if I had just been told that Eric was now back to being human, and he and I moved far away from these cities and lived a normal life with our child.  
  
"Wish he could know what?" All three of us turned to see Jager standing in my doorframe. He had not changed over the months, but he had softened on me. Turns out that Jager can be rather possesive over certain things, me included. He thinks he loves me, but I know it not to be true.  
  
"Nothing," Madrina replied calmly. She could not be touched, and Jager knew it. If Madrina would be taken down, all witches would never sleep until her killer was dead. That was why she lived to be so old. She was all but immortal.  
  
And because of this, Jager let her leave after she kissed my forehead and blessed me. He never even laid a finger on her. Loreena stood up a moment or two later. "I will be going to bed now Jager," she informed him before leaving as well. She was also rather protected. She was paid by Midnight and Jager to keep me from harm. My protection was payed by Jager and my children's protection was paid by Midnight. Jaguar to be more exact.  
  
"Me too," I muttered as I stood up and made my way to my door. "Please take a step back before I slam my door on your face." My words were teases but laced with threat. He knew I would not miss a chance to do so and so he took a step back.  
  
"Good night," he whispered before turning and going to his room. As I closed my door, I prayed to Spirit that my children would be kept safe long enough to see their father.  
  
At that, I changed and layed in my bed. I dreamed of two children playing by the ocean. I could not tell if they were boys or girls, or one of each. I did not see what they looked like. But I loved them nonetheless.  
  
I hoped that Eric would come and save me from this place. To take me back to Midnight before I liked this place too much to leave.  
  
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There, not much of a cliffhanger was it? Not as much as usual I think. Anyway, please review! if I remember correctly, next chapter will be interesting and in a POV I have not done in quite a long time. 


	25. Chapter 24: Two Species recollect a fata...

Alright, this is in Lucia's POV. . I had to add this. I needed something to cool the chapters down with. Too much action makes an insomniac's head hurt.  
  
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As soon as Nada left my presence, I felt alone. The lonlieness of this place they called New Mayhem seemed to become tangible. I could cut it with a knife had I wished to. Instead, I changed into a burgundy tanktop and an ebony miniskirt. New Mayhem vampires seemed to hold pride in their fashion. I wished to show them up. Many of them have lived through decades upon decades of fashion, while I only have been alive for two, and had been able to express my fashion for less than half of that time..  
  
Smirking, I pulled on fishnet leggings and laced up my knee high steel tipped boots. I rarely went out without my boots. I mean, where would I put my weapons? Glancing at the mirror, I traced the small space between skirt and top that revealed a tan line of skin. "Tsk Tsk," I chaticised myself. "Go and sign the book." I mocked a teacher Nada had made fun of before she was thrown into darkness. I had no idea what this "book" did to discipline you, but I stilled smiled a bright killer grin from behind my crimson lips.  
  
A few moments later, I stepped into the club named Las Noches. It seemed as if several vampires did not appreciate my presence. I instantly jotted them down as weak. A strong vampire acted as if they feared nothing.  
  
I kept on walking until I reached the bar. Humans thought I was one of their own kind; vampires knew better. I could take a form which could rip an arm off with one swipe, no matter if you were mortal or not.  
  
"Lucia De Fiaro." I heard a voice beckon to me. It was not a threatening tone, it was rather pleased actually. "Odd seeing someone from Midnight around here." I turned to come face to face with the vampiress who was named Jessica. Next to her was a dark grey haired vampire. Odd, he looked rather young. To a ignorant human, he would look 18 or so. How could he have that colored hair? Was it a trick of the mind?  
  
"Jessica," I greeted her, my eyes still moving up and down this new vampire. There, across his left eyes was a scar. A pearly white scar that I knew he could hide with a thought. It made him look rather tough.  
  
"Kairbre, this is Lucia. I met her during my time at Midnight." He gave me a short nod. "Lucia, this is Kairbre, vampire assassin (A/N: SPOILER!!! sorry....many apologizes. That wont come up until the later chapters of Embracing Immortality, but I cant take this out.)  
  
"Hello," I greeted him. "Is your hair really that color or is it the trick of your mind like the color of Jager's eyes?" Kairbre laughed and shook his head. That was not an answer.  
  
"Real as that hair on your head miss," he replied before downing a drink he just recieved from a tenderess. He was rather polite for a vampire. Before I could say anything more, he turned and abruptly left.  
  
"Strange vampire he is. He has just lost so many things in his life...." Jessica sighed. "So," she began as if he was never there. "What brings you here?"  
  
"A certain pregnant 17 year old girl," I replied as though being vague. She smirked. Jessica had not known Nada to be with child until two months after she arrived. Even though Nada knew Jessica, they did not speak to each other. Even the strong Jessica kept her distance from the girl. She had seen what had happened to the vampire who had tried to feed off of her. Rarely any vampires made eye contact with her, let alone talk to her. The only bold few met Nada at Madrina Macht's house.  
  
"Oh, messenger now are we?" She sat upon the bar and smirked at me. "So is it a promotion from a guard? Or demotion?" I arched a brow, ignoring her question as I sat on a stool to ponder how we had met. Jessica had been with Jager to sign the Mayhem/Midnight treaty. Her partner had fallen in love with Nada. And then she and I tried to get Eric and Nada together, thinking that Jager would grow old of her. We had half of our plan go right, but the other side went wrong. Fatally wrong. We had killed Eric, Blaze, and got Nada stuck down in the basement for a year. All of this had happened because of us. We both seemed to remember this and we were silent.  
  
"You want something to drink?" I turned to look at the girl behind the bar. Her hair was like a black mane that fell down her back and her skin was as pale as any vampires. I knew she was a blood bond before I could sense it.  
  
"Uh, water I guess," I stuttered, not really used to this atmosphere. I never had someone do something for me, like getting me a drink. Jessica seemed to understand.  
  
"That's Kaei, Jager's blood bond." I winced. I did not like the thought of how young this Kaei girl looked and how human she was, yet she was about as old as Jaguar. If I had done my New Mayhem history homework, I would be correct in saying that Kaei was the human that had almost destroyed this place. But she had set fire to Mayhem and been blood bonded to Jager. I was disgusted for a moment. "She doesn't seem to mind," she added when she saw my expression.  
  
"Here you go." I was handed a drink and I was about to say thank you but I noticed it was quite someone else. This girl was much younger, maybe about 16 years old in looks, rather than Kaei's older appearence. Her eyes were an odd color, maybe blueish green? No, they changed to Purple. Now they were red. What was going on?  
  
"Don't mind Rabe," Jessica assured me as Rabe smirked and continued her way by.  
  
"How did she do that?" I asked, curious yet somewhat nervous.  
  
"She just realized she was an Arun witch about I would say . . .four years ago? Hmm I do not remember. Kairbre, who was then Cairbre, spilled the beans on THAT one. Well, anyway, to make the long story short.. . . "  
  
"Too late," Rabe commented as she passed by again with another drink.  
  
"She was blood bonded to Aubrey's brother Maverick a year after she came here. Then she was changed a year or so later. "(A/N: For those who thought I was going to give Rabe away, you wish.) Jessica finished, keeping one eye on Rabe. "She kissed the undead, her worst immortal enemy before she realized what she was."  
  
"Interesting histories around here," I commented, taking a look around the room. Then it hit me. Kairbre. That was odd. How come I had not realized it before? Silly. I had been too stupid to remember. No matter, I pushed those thoughts away from me before they could properly form.  
  
"You bet cha. Well Lucia, it was nice speaking with you again." Jessica finished her drink and set it down next to the almost empty cup Kairbre left. Then she was gone.  
  
Curious as to what Kairbre had been drinking, I picked up the glass and sniffed it. "Wouldn't drink that if I were you darling." I jumped and turned to see Aubrey standing there, in all his pride and glory. He knew who I was. I was Jaguar's neice. And since I knew he knew that, he could not touch me. Not unless he wanted Midnight and Mayhem to go to war. Not like that was ever going to happen.  
  
"Hello Aubrey," I greeted him as if he were just another vampire. In my eyes he was nothing to marvel about although I admitted he was a rather attractive vampire. But Kairbre was by far more attractive and polite in my eyes. However, I had seemingly forgotten the fact that Aubrey was someone to marvel at in his turf.  
  
"Lucia, do you know what is in that cup?" He questioned me as if it was a casual conversation, but I heard the threat laced in there. Picking up the glass, I circled the rim with my index finger.  
  
"No, actually I don't. Why don't you be a genius and explain this highly frustrating subject to the extremely dense shape shifter?" I had purposely meant to anger him. If he actually did strike me, then it meant the treaty was over. We could get Nada back.  
  
"Why you little . . ." His hand raised above my head and I watched it come down. It was only inches from my face when someone hit him with their mind and sent him staggering back.  
  
"Tsk tsk Aubrey," came a feminine voice from behind me. When I turned around to see a golden eyed tiger striped hair young woman, I knew it was Risika. She had been replaced with Jager for the treaty because she had other business to attend to. Or so she said. One thing I knew was that Risika would do the complete opposite of Aubrey just to watch him simmer.  
  
"Risika." Aubrey stated simply before leaving a moment later.(A/N: Sorry if that seemed a bit OC) I suppressed a smirk and continued to look at Risika.  
  
"You're Jaguar's neice Lucia then?" Her voice had turned from threatening to a bit more opening. But no less protective of herself. I knew she had been through a lot over her 300 years of existence. When I nodded, she gestured to the cup. "Cyanide. Real bitch to anything but vampires. Kairbre enjoys the burning of his skin as he drinks it I suppose." When she passed by me, she added with her mind. 'Nada is really important to Midnight and New Mayhem, whether both sides want to admit it or not. You better go home while you can Tiger, because it's going to turn dirty soon. And as a relative enemy of Aubrey's, I would advise you to go home.' She had said all of this as she never even made eye contact with me.  
  
Suppressing a shiver, I grabbed the water Rabe had given me and left the club. Whether Risika was right or wrong, I did not care. I just did not want her to be right and me not listen. I would hate for another Midnight resident to die in such a short time.  
  
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Dun! OMG the next chapter is probably one of the most shocking yet. Well, I think it is. If you review this chapter, you get the next chapter. This one was inspired by Neveada, although I doubt she knows it. She is pretty dense. Anyway, please please please review!!  
  
Krikoris Kriticos 


	26. Chapter 25: Midnight gains a new master

This is a shocking chapter that some of you might not like. Oh well, flame me if you want. I love this chapter. Its wonderful, yet horrible. Many doors are opened while even more are closed. It's a surprising chapter that even I did not expect. Please read and enjoy!  
  
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Two months and five days without Nada. My child is now four months old, and I wish I could be there to see it grow. My life~or unlife~ has changed drastically. I now live in the west wing along with the other vampires, but it is so much more different than my old place.  
  
Have I killed? Yes, I have. It was something I had not planned on, it was completely an accident. I don't want to discuss it now. I feel so guilty just thinking of it. "Eric?" I turn my head from my position on my couch to see a crimson cloaked figure. It was Lucia, and she seemed to have just come back from New Mayhem. Or at least as 'just came back' could be. New Mayhem was quite a long time away. Lucky thing she had a car. But my sister had not been here for almost a week and she had no idea what had happened over that short period of time.  
  
"Enjoy your visit?" I asked as calmly as I could as I sat up and stretched. This couch was rather comfortable. When I saw Lucia take a long look at me, I knew she could sense something different in my aura. I didn't want to tell her yet, not right after she came back.  
  
"About as enjoyable as washing the kitchen floors," she answered honestly. "Until I actually met Nada. Had trouble with a vampire earlier that day, took care of him point blank." That seemed to have thrilled her. Being a shifter guard could be rather boring around here. Nothing was stupid enough to try and get away. "She seemed rather enjoyed to hear about you."  
  
"How did she take the news of Turquoise and Ravyn?" As much as I had not known Ravyn, I still ached inside. The two hunters had taken down one vampire but created two instead. Three Midnight vampires created and two killed. Odd how this never happened while I was human.  
  
"Not too well," she answered. I thought so. When I had heard, I had gone crazy. Ask Adrian. He had to pry me away from a human I was all but killing. He and I had become closer than I would have liked three months ago. He really wasn't as bad as he came out to be. If you were a vampire that is. If he liked you, you and him were great. But if he hated you, you were in for Hell. I am not sure how he decided to like me so soon after I had been a slave in which he beated for pleasure.  
  
"I would be surprised if she took it well," I thought aloud. Then, I asked. "How is she?"  
  
"Nada seems to be a little big for a woman that far into her pregnancy," Lucia replied, but she didn't see that troubled. And so I was not either. As long as the two of them were safe and sound, I was fine as well.  
  
"Did you see Jager?" Lucia winced and she shook her head slowly. "You saw her without a leash attached to Jager's grip?" That was relatively surprising. He had her caged up like god knows what for a year and then let her roam freely in a town full of vampires? That certainly did not make sense. But then again, New Mayhem vampires were always hard to understand.  
  
"It seems as if he lets her roam the town until midnight. She has to be at the house by then I would suppose. But it looks like she visits that witch Jaguar told you about." Jaguar. I looked away at the name to fight both tears of sadness and anger. My body began to tremble and my fists clenched. I have shed so many tears over the months. It was not fair. But as Adrian said 'Life gave me the name Fair, and yet look where I have ended up.'  
  
"I see," I sighed as I stood up and looked straight at her. I had gained enough mental power to change my appearance. And since I was no longer human, I did not want to look human. And so I had traded in my human looks for deep crimson hair and piercing blue eyes. That along with my already pale skin could look haunting to a slave. And then, Adrian was teaching me how to use a whip. Not like he could teach as well as Jaguar could . . . "You should get some rest sister." I glanced at the clock and winced. It was already 2 in the afternoon and I felt the vampiric instinct to sleep cover me like a thin sheet. I could still see the light but if I just closed my eyes . . . .  
  
"Sounds rather intriguing," Lucia smiled and kissed me on the forehead before looking at me closely. "There is something painful in your eyes. I wish I could read them like I used to. But I fear I cannot." She always hit home, I cursed to myself. I just hope I can hold this off for just a few more hours until I am personally able to handle the consequences of my actions. "Good night, brother who walks among the shadows." And with that, she turned and left me there. I could still feel her aura tingling my skin where she had kissed my skin.  
  
I fell back onto the couch, curled up like Jaguar used to, with my new whip in hand. I dreamt of the incident the day after Lucia left to find Nada. That was the day I first killed and let responsibility fall heavily onto my shoulders, almost crushing my soul.  
  
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"Eric, please be reasonable about this." Jaguar's words hit my back and yet I did not turn to face him. It was not that I was afraid of him, it was that I felt this sickening pleasurable feeling building up inside me and I was afraid that it would release itself and cause harm.  
  
"I AM being reasonable about this, Jaguar." I growled, my hand on my dagger. It was the dagger I had given Nada the day we were 'married'. She had used it to stab Jager, and I felt like using it once again. The ruby studded hilt glistened in the dim room. I felt obligated to use its beauty. There should be nothing that beautiful put to waste. Not like I am saying that stabbing Jager is a waste. That made my day, although it also damned it.  
  
"No, you are NOT." He yelled the last word, and that finally convinced me to turn and meet him eye to eye. His expression was less than inviting, but I did not falter. I refused to. There was no way I was going to act like prey ever again. Unlike other vampires who had still acted like prey for years after their change, I have turned full force predator in the past two months. I had to. Vampires around here were not pleased with the fact that a slave was now a vampire. A vampire that was growing strength.  
  
"Do not speak to me as if I know NOTHING!" I screamed at him. For a moment he was too shocked to even reply. "For seven years I have lived here. I listened to everything even slightly political that I could. I never wanted to be a slave. But none of us had any choice now did we?" When he tried to interrupt, I held my knife in the direction of his heart. "I had not been broken in those years, I had sat at your feet like a puppy waiting to be praised. I will NOT do so for the rest of my life!"  
  
"I know the changes of Turquoise and Ravyn have hurt you, but there is no reason for you to take this out on me." He kept trying to be the father figure. He had thought himself as a father to me, but I had just been a small pet to stay at his side.  
  
"This has nothing to do with them!" I felt tears sting my eyes but I did not wipe them away. I had tried to fight them back before and had failed miserably. "I will not be the little puppy at your feet anymore Jaguar. I refuse to try and understand your attempts of reasoning." By now, tears were streaming down my cheeks. Jaguar seemed to pity me, and I hated pity. "Do not pity me Jaguar, for you shall receive no pity from others."  
  
"Is that a threat Eric?" Jaguar seemed to be going defensive now. Before he was trying to get my offense down but now I had struck a nerve. A vampiric nerve. He did not like the thought of being threatened by a young vampire.  
  
"No," I answered, but some sadism snuck through, "It's a promise." Several slaves who were still present in the room decided to leave as soon as they were able to. Considering this was in the main hallway, anyone who tried to get to the other side of the building would have to pass us.  
  
"You better remember boy," Jaguar spat, finally losing his temper, "that I made you. It's my blood that runs through your veins. I own you."  
  
"You sound a little too much like a vampire I used to know." I snarled. He jerked away from me as if he had been struck. I had struck another nerve there, but this one was more personal. I had boughten out the Jeshickah in him. The evil nasty side of the usually content calm vampire named Jaguar. "And we know what happened to her, now don't we?"  
  
"Shut your mouth," he ordered. I stared straight at him and laughed. Laughed as if I had lost my mind.  
  
"You cannot tell me what to do," I informed him as if it was the most simple thing ever said on the planet. As if HE was the younger of the two of us.  
  
(A/N: Eric sounds a little cocky doesn't he?)  
  
Before I knew it, he was attacking me. But before he could touch me, he stopped, His eyes went wide and he pulled away. Or at least tried to. He had fallen to the floor before I could properly blink an eye. Eyes wide in shock, I looked down at him. My ruby dagger was dripping with his blood, and I looked down at the vampire that was once named Jaguar.  
  
I sank to my knees and took in every detail possible. I forgot what we had been fighting about, but it was too late. The dagger had pierced his heart inches before he was able to strike me. He didn't even touch a hair on my head. But I had killed him.  
  
"No," I whispered, my voice cracking. "He ran himself through."  
  
I kept on chanting that until Adrian had entered the hallway. Seeing me in the condition I was, he knelt down beside me. His eyes held no comfort to me as he ordered several slaves to take Jaguar's body away. "I do not know how this occurred, young Eric," he said as he pried the dagger from out of my hands. That took some effort. "And when you are ready I'll listen. But until then you need to feed and get some sleep. You look like the dead." He winced after he said that, but I laughed. The icy, bone chilling laugh made Adrian shiver.  
  
"I am already dead, Adrian. Jaguar has just finally left this Earth long after his time." I tried to get up but was too weak. And so Adrian brought both of us up to my new room in an instant. He then forced me to sit on the bed.  
  
"Get some sleep Eric," he ordered, and I slayed back on the bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow. He did not need to tell me that twice.  
  
******************************  
  
A noise pulled me from my light sleep and I was up with a dagger in my hand before I even knew I was awake. It was a habit I had learned as a human, to wake up at the slightest sound. Which was probably why I never got sleep. When I saw who it was, my heart sank.  
  
"Do you know where Jaguar has gone to?" I looked at my sister and was only able to hold her gaze for a brief moment. I still felt overwhelmingly guilty for the death of her uncle. I only wondered who would rule Midnight.  
  
"Yes." I managed to choke out. Lucia's brow arched, a familiar trait in Midnight.  
  
"This is what has pained you since my arrival back here, is it not?" There was no point in trying to hide it from her. Shifters were not stupid. Much smarter than humans, but not as immortal as vampires. I could not verbally respond and so I just simply nodded. "What has upset you so?" I could hear the fear laced with her usually calm voice, feel the uncertainly and suspicion in her aura, see the doubt in her eyes.  
  
"I seem to be having trouble finding a new leader for Midnight." I had answered her questions with only a few words. I could not look at her as her mind reluctantly processed those words. I heard her heart speed up, her breath quicken, I could taste the sadness in the air.  
  
"Who killed him?" It was obvious that Lucia was trying to be strong, and to a human she would look that way. There were no teary eyes or sweaty palms. But as a vampire I could hear her breath, pulse, everything that she would try to hide from me, I could find. I did not want to answer her question. I was afraid that she would try to kill me out of revenge. But she knew that I loved Jaguar as much as she did.  
  
"A young vampire who has grieved ever since his death. A vampire who did not understand reasoning. Your brother, Eric." I did not turn around. I did not wish to see Adrian. He had come at the right time. Or had he been there? I doubt the latter. I would have felt his aura.  
  
Lucia did not seem to take the news well. She glanced at Adrian, then me, before a single tear ran down her cheek. Then, she ran off. No doubtly into the garden where she would grieve as I have, if not worse. "Thank you Adrian," I whispered, still not used to this side of the killer trainer I had learned to hate as a human.  
  
"Get some sleep Eric," Adrian advised. He has told me that several times over the past few days. "The Master of Midnight needs his sleep." I turned to face him then. "Yes, you are the Master of Midnight now. Or until you appoint someone else."  
  
"Good night Adrian," I stammered, now in more shock than I had a few minutes ago. I then brought myself into my room and slept. But I could not shake off the feeling of the fact that I might not wake up again. 


	27. Chapter 26: Ten Ways to Anger the Origin...

Does the chapter title make you think of something humorous? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think it is, but I thought it was rather appropiate. This is in Adrian's POV. Once again meant to calm down the drama.  
  
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That boy. He was still so human that it hurt to watch him pain himself. I myself was confused on why I had actually cared for this new fledgling. I guess it was because of that stupid Nada girl that never left my mind, no matter what I was doing. Her mother had lived with me for several weeks. I had fed her when she she could not reach the food in time, kept her warm when she trembled. I was like an older brother to her and we never even spoke a word to one another. It was odd how relationships could work out that way.  
  
What really confused me was the fact that Dieta had never done one physical thing for me. She never fed me, never did anything. I was the one to aid her. And yet, still after all these years, it seemed as if I owed HER something still. That thought plagued me. Why did I feel that way when she had done nothing for me?  
  
She had though, I reasoned with myself. She had done nothing to my body but she helped my mind. I, when I could have been broken in that Midnight. But she kept reminding me of what humanity and love was.  
  
That word. LOVE. I thought of it as an insect that needed to be squashed. When I had seen Nada for the first time after Jaguar had bought her, she was a fly. Yet one another side of the force field. Jaguar would have splattered me against the wall like jelly if I had injured her. Or he would have at least tried to.  
  
I had loved Nada's mother. As a sister. A little thing that needed to be kept well fed and warm. I had done so. She was my own little sister, the replacing the siblings and parents I had lost to selling, abandonment, and culling.  
  
Retching myself away from the sleeping boy, I went back downstairs to see the place where Jaguar had layed dead a few days ago. There was no blood, no nothing to show what that spot meant to all of us. Deep inside me, it felt as if Jaguar had known the dagger was there. I mean, how could he have not seen it? Blinding anger? I doubt it. I have seen Jaguar's blinding rage, and he could still see weapons. Had he ran into it on purpose? I was not sure why he would even consider doing so, but he was dead now. It did not matter what little theories we placed into our heads. The Master of New Midnight was dead. Ran through by his own fledgling. A vampire not even half a year old and already stronger than most of his line. The Katama Line.  
  
Katama. I remember seeing her once or twice. She would always pass my cage in the basement and pause to gaze at me. She had sometimes stop to talk to me as if I was a dumb-witted monkey of some sort. Thinking back fondly, I remember the day where I had pushed Katama, the original Vampiress of Midnight, a bit too off the edge.  
  
***************memory******************  
  
"Little human," the vampire cooed on the other side of the bars. I kept my eyes down on the ground, the little girl in my lap. I continued to stroke her as if she was a precious kitten. Her eyes were closed and I knew she was fast asleep. I usually did this everyday right after we got something to drink or eat. The food made her tired, or so it seemed. I never really knew. I never said much as a word to her.  
  
As I continued to run my fingers through the girl's hair, to stroke her dusty yet silky cheeks, the vampire on the other side of the cage seemed to grow more impatient. "Come on, please look at me!" I knew she was mocking me. Her kind thought humans as weak. What they forgot was that they were once like me, mortal and weak. But of course they did not wish to think themselves as weak. I personally thought that they did not want to think of their old selves capable of killing, but that was my opinion.  
  
After about another minute of the continues callow (A/N: yes I spelled that right. If you want to know what it means, look it up in a dictionary) whining, I grew fed up. My eyes shot up from the ground and connected with hers. "A fiesty one, aye?" She almost giggled with delight. "Never thought one of these things had the smarts to understand what I was saying." I couldnt help but glare at her. She smirked and got down on her knees, which was odd in itself. Did she enjoy angering slaves? Probably. Katama probably enjoyed picking on things while they were behind bars. She was safe.  
  
For those who have not ever met Katama would only need to know a few things. Number one, she is a direct fledgling of Siete. Number two, her first fledgling is her younger sister, Jeshickah. Number three, she enjoyed toying with us more than Jeshickah did. Rather than being disobediant puppies as Jeshickah saw us, Katama saw us purely as a form of fascination and enjoyment. Sometimes she could just sit infront of cages for hours, examining us, watching what we did. We were more of a hobby or a collection rather than slaves.  
  
And Number four, the one that had been beaten into many of us, was that her temper was almost two times more volatile than her sister's. I have seen Katama joke with a guard for one moment and have the guard near death the next. And she was very good at breaking us. VERY good. In vampire opinion that is.  
  
If you would ever ask me, which you would not, about what made Katama tick, it was her intelligence. She was very smart as a human, or so I was told. Well, not to me, but the guards would talk about her while she was elsewhere.  
  
"Human?" I had looked away before,and I did not wish to see her again. "You with the blond hair and blue eyes petting the little one." I arched a brow yet still did not look up. If she wanted my attention, she would have to get it in a better manner. The first time had been a mistake.  
  
"Fine," she snapped. "Guards, bring that one out of there so I can bring it to my room." That caught my ear. Her room? I slowly moved the small girl off of my lap and began to stand up as gradually as I could. If there was one place I did not want to go, it was Katama's room. Most humans who were taken up there were broken and sold to some other vamp the next day.  
  
"Yes ma'am," A hawk guard replied as he slowly undid my cage door. The others stirred at the sound. Flare and his group of teenagers watched me, shaking their heads. Never would Flare admit that I was the one to give him that name. If I would ask him tomorrow what his real name had been, he would not know. That was one of the many differences between me and many other Midnight vampires. Most would not recall their true name. Others refused to answer the question, although they knew what the answer was.  
  
"Hurry up," Katama complained like a child waiting for icecream. I was in the guard's grasp and was being pulled out before I could properly think.  
  
"He is the rougher of his age group," the guard warned her as he tied the leash onto my neck and began leading me into Katama's room. She, unlike others, had her room in the basement. Our sleeping habits made her curious. While some nights she watched sleeping positions, others she listened to different tones of snores. Rarely a night went by that she did not spend at least two hours out here, listening and watching. It unnerved most of us, me included. Were we that interesting?  
  
"I think I can handle it," she assured him sarcastically as she held the door open for us. When I passed her, she pinched my butt. I jumped and turned to meet her gaze. "Hmm he is a bit wild is he not?" She thought aloud after the guard had released my neck from the brace he had put it in. "He meets my gaze without hesitation to do so. Do you think he thinks me interesting?" Before the guard could respond, she waved him off. "Go now, and leave me with him." To my dissappointment, he obeyed and left me with her.  
  
"So, do you remember the name your parent's gave you?" She tilted her head, looking me over. I did, but I shook my head. I did not wish to talk to her. If she wished to beat me, then let her do so. I just wanted to go back to the girl. She might be upset that I left. "Can you even speak?" Slowly, I nodded. "Good." I wasn't sure if she was being serious or not. "Was that black haired one on your lap your own offspring or a litter mate?"  
  
"Neither," I snapped, drawing back as if I had already been smacked. Not to my surprise, I found myself on the floor. I had set off her volatile temper with just a simple word. And now I could all but feel the bruises pregrowing and the blood already dripping down my skin. All of this I had already begun feeling and Katama had not drew blood yet.  
  
"An abandoned runt that you thought would die if you did not take her under your wing then?" She continued asking as if she had never struck me.  
  
"If you want to beat me," I growled, surprising the both of us, "then just do it. I did not come here to play 20 questions." Back then it was not even a game. But now you know where the name came from. Makes you wonder about the game industry owners doesn't it?  
  
"The black sheep of the herd," she noted aloud. "You know what we do to the black sheep?" I did not get a chance to respond. I felt her foot pressing against my neck even before I felt my head crack against the floor. "We either bend them to our will, kill them, or make them one of us. Black sheep are one in a few hundred, as you have already noticed." She smiled sadistically. "The question is now, are you going to die before you are broken, are you going to be broken at all? If you aren't and actually survive this, then I am putting you on potential list. And once you are on there, you can never get off."  
  
Kicking me in the ribs, she began to beat me. The last words that were a full sentence were, "But the matter is, you are going to die by the hands of Midnight."  
  
**************************end memory*********  
  
I smirked as I lounged in one of the couches. That had been one of the worst beating I had ever had to endure, and it was probably one of my last, now that I came to think about it. That beating had been a month before my change.  
  
I actually wondered where Katama was at that moment as I layed down and closed my eyes slightly. I could sense it was mid morning. I was quite tired. But I was afraid of what might happen when I slept. Would Lucia try to kill Eric while he too slept? I feared for the boy's life.  
  
Which brought me back to the original question at hand. Why did I care for him? First off, he was strong. He would be able to kill me in a year or so. Second, he needed help getting Nada back, or at least planning to get her back. But mostly most likely, it was the fact that Nada loved him, and I owed it to Dieta to protect her family. Eric was married to Dieta's daughter, and so I felt a duty to protect them.  
  
How odd. I had never said a word to the girl named Dieta and yet here I was, pledgling my life to protect her descendants. Sighing, I closed my eyes, put my hands behind my head and drifted off into a light sleep. I never understood love. Which would probably explain why I feared it.. Anything anyone does not understand, they rejected and feared it. That was probably one of the major things I learned in the past centuries of my life.  
  
Never fear what you do not understand, for one day you might become what you had feared. 


	28. Chapter 27: The Impossible Bondage

Okiez, this is official. Only two or three chapters after this. I did the hard math and that is what I got. Please review, I would love to get 100 reviews for my first fanfic. Enjoy!  
  
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I hurt all over. Every muscle ached, my mind was screaming. I was crying, but it was not for me. It was for my children. I had fought with Jager and, like every human, I lost. I am not sure what he has done to me and my children, but I hope that it had just affected my body and not theirs. "Nada, this is going to feel a bit odd but its natural, ok?" I nodded, almost in too much pain to respond. Then I felt something beautiful. I felt a kick inside of me. Soon followed by another one.  
  
"What did you do?" Madrina asked as she dabbed my head with a wet washcloth. She had arrived here only moments ago, on my request. Loreena had been healing me ever since Jager had beaten me. It was the first time I had felt his hand hit me in an offensive manner since I came here.  
  
It has been three months since Lucia's visit. My children were two months from birth and I was huge. It hadn't taken a long time before Jager realized what was going on. Well, it had taken him three months to be exact. I knew he had been around when Jazlyn Raisa had been pregnant with Jessica. He had been there for the birth of my favorite author, who had been touched by the darkness. The human who had survived on damned blood for over a decade. And it had been Loreena's daughter, Monica, who brought her and her mother into the world of the living. Yes, Loreena is Hasana and Monica's mother.  
  
"He figured out how many of Eric's offspring were really growing inside me," I muttered a reply before I broke down crying. I felt Madrina's magic course over my skin and I felt her pull back in shock.  
  
"He didn't. . ." She ran her fingers through my hair and I heard her choke on her own tears. "Is it even possible Loreena?"  
  
"Afraid so," the Smoke witch responded as she stroked my brow. "Her blood bond with Flare was only handed down by her mother. It didn't survive the over power of Jager's blood." Just the thought of the whole thing made me want to throw up, but I did not move. I was too fearful for my children to think. Had I ruined their lives? Made them bonded to Jager just as Flare and I had been connected? I prayed to Spirit that they were unharmed by the blood that now bonded me closer to Jager.  
  
"What about the children?" My heart skipped at the hope that soared through my soul. My mortality was lost to a damned soul who thought himself inlove with me. He had turned Fala because he loved her. I just prayed everyday that I was not to share her fate.  
  
"It seems as if only one has taken the blood, as odd as that sounds," Loreena responded, shock still in her voice. "I only sense a small but potent bond from one of the children and the other one is healthier than it was this morning. Seems as if one child has been spared the bond of Jager."  
  
"Thank you Goddess," Madrina whispered as she stroked my stomach and kissed my forehead. I had been cleaned up and yet I still had a bruise or two forming. Loreena was caring for the wound on my arm, and besides that I had been barely touched. It was more of a hit between me and the wall rather than me and Jager.  
  
"You feeling better Nada?" I nodded and forced myself to sit up. But my vision went black and I fell back onto the bed.  
  
**********memory********  
  
"Your stomach seems to have grown greatly in the past months," Jager informed me as if it took a scientist to notice it. I rolled my eyes and continued to brush my hair.  
  
"Thank you, sergeant stupid," I snapped. He brushed the comment aside and leaned down and kissed my cheek. I couldn't hide my disgust. It was rather hard to hold my fist back from connecting it with his face. But I obeyed him. Not for my own life, but for my children's.  
  
"How many do you have in there?" His tone sounded joking but I knew him too well. He would be joking now but if I did not answer, he would force it out of me.  
  
"Why is it your business?" I muttered as I slammed down my brush and slid my chair back, which made Jager have to take a step or two back so he didn't get run over by the chair. "They aren't YOUR children." Oh no . . .  
  
"Children?" He smirked as he took my face in his hand. "As in more than one?" I rammed my heel into his foot and retched my face away from his grip.  
  
"Don't touch me. As I said before, since they aren't your children, they aren't your business." That seemed to set him off. His hand gripped my neck and threw me into the wall. My head once again hit something unforgiving and I slumped against the floor. My head was pounding. My heart was skipping. I had only fear for my children.  
  
"I'll make them mine." His threat sent chills up and down my spine. If he meant what I thought I meant, then my children were going to be in great danger.  
  
"You wouldn't," I almost cried out. "They are the last thing I have left of my husband, who you killed! I will not let you taint them with your damned blood." Another hit came out of nowhere and connected with my cheek. His grip was once again on my neck and he pulled me up and pinned me to the wall.  
  
"You can't stop me now can you?" I spit in his face. Anger flashed on his face.  
  
"Maybe not, but I can make sure it is not an enjoyable experience for either of us." That was when I felt his lips on my neck. His hands now pinned my shoulders and so I could not move very much. When his fangs bit into my skin, I felt bliss. Sea foam on a wave, laying on the clouds. I felt so tired . . .  
  
It seemed to go on for hours, eternity, but I did not mind. One thing brought his mind trap down. My husband, my children. I was 17 years old and had those things already. And I had them to lose as well.  
  
When I felt a liquid go pass my lips, I forced down a swallow, then another. When I realized what it was, I rammed my knee up and hit Jager in his groin. He pulled his lips away from my neck and threw me onto the bed. "Now you have NOTHING of your precious Eric left," he sneered before leaving.  
  
Loreena came in a moment later.  
  
*******end memory*************  
  
I woke up once again. I felt as if my whole life was revolved on what happened before I slept. Loreena was still next to me, although her hands were now on my stomach. She had a small smirk on her face. "What is so funny?" I groaned as she took my hand and rested it on my stomach.  
  
"Nothing funny," Loreena replied vaguely. "Beauty is to be looked at not laughed at."  
  
"What are you saying woman?" I asked her as I felt one of my children kick. It felt so beautiful when you had your hand there.  
  
"Seems true that Jager's blood has only been taken in by one child. But that is almost impossible. The only way that is possible is if the child . . .. " She hesitated. "I don't know how to explain this . . .DREW the blood meant for its sibling into itself as well."  
  
"My one child saved the other from Jager's blood bondage?" I asked in disbelief. When she nodded, I smiled. "I'm ready for you to tell me if they are boys or girls." I had not wanted to know when they were smaller, but incase Lucia came back I wanted her to tell Eric that we were having twins.  
  
"The one that drew the vampiric blood into itself is a female." I laughed. That is a Tanata girl for you. "And the other child is a male." I was still near tears. It was such a relief to hear things like that. Things like this made life worth living, no matter how much pain there was in my life. Bringing these two children into the world seemed to be the point of my life. I do not know, but that is what they made me feel.  
  
"I am glad," I whispered. I was so proud of my children but I have never set a hand on them. It felt as if I knew them for ages. Of course, most of my life has occured in the past two years, and so it was as if I knew them for so long.  
  
"You need some more rest child," Loreena kissed my forehead. "Don't forget. You shall give birth here and then your love will come to save you from this place." She hesistated before she added. "I have heard some rather disturbing news."  
  
"Seems there is always something disturbing going on," I joked, although it was completely true.  
  
"True, but this news . . .I have heard from a witch from Midnight." My thoughts went dark. I have grown accustomed to thinking the worst.  
  
"Is Eric ok?" I quickly asked. Loreena smiled and nodded. "Then what news of Midnight do you have?" I was eager to know this. It took quite awhile to get news from there to here, considering that the best thing Midnight has is a phone. And that was just really for vampires.  
  
"Sleep Nada," she ordered. She fluffed a pillow and smoothed out the blankets. "You will be ready soon, but not now." I wondered how bad the news could get. Was Lucia ok? I kept thinking negative things and no doubt my guardian felt them. "Forget all thoughts just long enough to get some proper sleep."  
  
I wanted to ask her more, but she turned and left the room before I could ask. Which left me and the dark together, like old friends. 


	29. Chapter 28: Good news or bad news, that ...

Ok guys, there is one more chapter after this. I would really appreciate it if you reviewed, I really do love this chapter. The name that he chooses is darling. Eric's POV. Enjoy!!  
  
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"Master of Midnight," Lucia growled at me as she came into the room. It has been two months since the death of her uncle and yet she still has not forgiven me of the biggest mistake of my life. I have not changed over the short time, although vampire's thoughts of me are amusing. I have changed my name so that they would not suspect something. Not as if vampires look at the slaves anyway.  
  
"Yes, Lucia?" I ask her, my hopes rising. She had just come back from Nada's delivery of the child. My child. The last thing of my human life left. The child and my wife. "What news of Nada?" Lucia smiled as she sat down. Everytime we spoke of Nada, her hatred towards me melted like a penny on the sun. Almost instantly.  
  
"Yes Lucia, do tell." I barely glanced over at the new vampire in the room. Turquoise has been trying to get used to being a Midnight vampire. But her interests have been lying in the Kendra Line. She does not like the world of slaves. She had heard of the legendary bashes and has been wishing to go to one. But she has not been able to leave the boundaries of Midnight or the town it owns until she is properly able to control her new powers.  
  
"Well, bad or good news first?" I did not like bad news. If the bad news was anything as bad as Lucia made it sound as it was, the good news would not make me feel better.  
  
"Good," Adrian responded as he came into the room. He has changed greatly over the short period of time. He has gone from a painful, hated trainer into one of the kindest vampires I have ever known. His attitude change towards Nada is also stunning. One year she is a pesky fly buzzing above his head, and the next she is one of the most important things on his mind. Highly contradictiary, but alright...  
  
"Well, it turns out that I was getting somewhere when I said her stomach was a little big." I half stood off of the couch. Adrian pushed me back down. I wanted to smack him but kept my hands down.  
  
"Well?" Turquoise prodded.  
  
"There seems to be twins." I was on my feet, despite the hands of Adrian. I seemed to have pulled Adrian to his feet as well. Or had he stood up on his own?  
  
"Two! I'm a father of twins!" I screamed it happily as I saw Lucia tear up. Out of happiness or sadness, I do not know. But I sat down, pushing down my happiness, knowing it could not save me for what was to come. "The bad news?"  
  
"There is two elements of bad news," Lucia began, her eyes on the floor. After a moment or two of silence, my sister continued. "It turns out that Jager had fed Nada some of his own blood before the births took place. Flame's blood bond was overcome by Jager's." She had to stop to control her tear filled voice. And finally she looked at me. Right into my illusionary blue eyes. "Your wife and your daughter are bonded to your killer."  
  
Had my heart still been beating, it would have stopped. If I had not been able to control my anger, my hatred, my blinding rage, I would have found the closest slave and killed it right on the spot. I would have gone mad had I not been able to control myself. But I am able to hold my anger back. Anger is less painful to fear that hurt. And believe me, I was feeling some major pain now.  
  
"Their names?" Adrian asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I had not thought about that. And I leaned back, ran my fingers through my hair, and tried to fight tears.  
  
"Nada has not named them yet," Lucia answered, her eyes still on me. "She wanted Eric to name his son."  
  
"Eric is dead," I snapped, pulling my gaze away from hers and staring up at the ceiling.  
  
"She wants her husband to name his son," she corrected herself, sadness laced with hurt and anger.  
  
"Well, I shall think about it," I finally answered before I stood up and left the room.  
  
"Eric.." I thought to myself as I stalked the long hallway. "Eric would not kill slaves for spite, Eric would not drink a human dry. Eric was human." I slammed my fist against one of the walls. "Eric is dead!" I kept repeating that to myself, continuously pounding the wall until I was mumbling and I was barely even touching the wall when I went to hit it. I then slumped to the floor and began crying.  
  
I am pretty sure that most vampires did not go through these fits of depression like this. But what makes me so different? I do not know. Earlier in my life I have said that I belong in Midnight. I am bound by that statement now. I could go to any other Line and yet still be bound to Midnight by blood. But my maker is dead, killed by his own hand, his own SON.  
  
"Korbin, what have you done to yourself?" I feel myself being lifted up, but I do not acknowledge who has done so. "You have children, whether to your old name or not. They are your children by blood. It was your blood once." A sob of edged sanity escaped my lips. I was so confused. Who am I? Am I Eric, the innocent lap dog of Jaguar, or am I Korbin, Master of Midnight? Where did my children belong? "You have a wife, Korbin, a wife. I have never wished for one of my own, but I would like a partner to watch the days wither away."  
  
"I want to name my son." I pulled away from Adrian's grip and stood up on my own. He looked at me with respect. No matter how insane I felt, I had to name my son. My son. I felt like weeping with joy at the very thought. I am too human for my own good.  
  
"I'm glad to hear that," Adrian told me as I tried to keep my balance. He looked so calm. I knew he was broken inside. But he has many years to perfect that. I am not even a year old and I have surpassed many expectations. "But you need to feed first..."  
  
"No, Adrian. I will NOT put myself infront of my son or daughter." I paused to catch my breath. My mind was spinning.I had not fed in two or three days. I had been waiting for my sister to arrive. I thought of a name that no one would ever think of. One like Risika. A name that was unheard of. That way, no one could ever get mixed up with my son and someone else's. I thought of one that came to my mind and I spoke it before I had time to think it over."Linaien. Linaein De Fiaro." Adrian smiled. I mean, really smiled. That was the happiest smile I have ever seen on his face.  
  
"You use the name of your blood father for your son."  
  
"Jaguar was more than a blood father. He was my family. I owe it to him to pass down his name, even if I had not shared his blood for my whole life."  
  
"Linaein De Fiaro it is Master Korbin." Adrian was still smiling. I suppose he was glad for Nada. Not many 17 year olds could give birth to twins unassisted and with no drugs. "I'll go to Lucia and inform her of her nephew's name." And with that he was gone.  
  
I leaned my head back against the cold wall and sighed. Linaein. My son's name was Linaein. But now was the problem. I now had a son and a daughter. One was touched by the damned blood and the other was as pure as spring water. One was Jager's by blood, and one was mine. How would their lives begin? How were we going to save both of them?  
  
"You can't." Not even listening to that voice that I heard everyday from my own lips, I left to go and feed. I was losing and gaining a child in the same day. Life is not fair. And my whole existence was proof to that.  
  
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Awww! Dont you feel horrid? I do....please review! Heh next and last chapter you get to get to know the name of the daughter, and following that there are author's notes. Please have a nice day!!!  
  
Krikoris Kriticos 


	30. Chapter 29: Light and Dark, Brother and ...

Ok guys, this is the last chapter. *tear* I really fell in love with this story. Really I did! And its great to know that other people like it too. After this I am going to put an Author's notes and I would like you to read them and see if you agree with anything. Ok, last chapter, Nada's POV. Disturbed Awakenings has started and ended with Nada, but her children's stories are just about to begin.  
  
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"What are you going to name her?" Loreena asked me on my right as Madrina rocked my son on my left. My small fragile daughter was in my arms, oddly silent. I was still somewhat in shock as to what the vampiric blood had done to her in such a small amount of time.  
  
My daughter had deep tanned skin, even for a newborn, a little hair tuft the color of chocolate, and eyes the tint of death. Jager was visible in my child's appearance, despite the fact that she was already 7 months in my womb when his blood entered her system. Then again, she is so small. The blood had went through her cord and left the vampiric taint of darkness. And she had drawn the blood away from her brother, as much of a miracle that is.  
  
"I am not sure yet," I thought, my eyes still gazing over my darling daughter. She looked so much like the vampire that all but killed her father, damned her mother, and tainted her own china doll body.  
  
"Lucia will be back in a few days to announce the name of your son," Madrina assured me as she stroked my son's cheek. I looked over at him and was hit with sadness. Unlike his sister, who was tainted with the Dark, he was the Light in everyway. When she had drawn Jager's blood to herself, she must have taken Flare's blood along with it. He as well beared no resemblance to his parents.  
  
His skin was the color of fresh snow, and we would have all thought him dead had he not cried. But his small amount of hair was so blond that it looked white. And his eyes. His beautiful eyes. They were so blue it felt as if you could swim in them. They held so much depth that you felt like drowning.  
  
My children were complete opposites, light and dark. Neither of them looked like their parents, and yet they were all we had left to grasp of our humanity. Our past. Our innocent past.  
  
I had been lost in the beauty of my children, but the new aura in my room pulled me out of my thoughts like a string on a guitar.  
  
Slowly, I looked up at him. He was not looking at me, and I was glad for a moment until I realized what he was looking at. His illusionary emerald eyes fell upon my daughter's fragile figure, and he took a step forward. "She looks just like me," he whispered, some sort of sadistic happiness coursing through his voice.  
  
"She is NOT yours," I snapped in response, bring her closer to me. My skin was flushed and I was sweating to no end. Even my short hair was plastered to my head. No wonder he did not want to look at me. I was hideous.  
  
"I told you I would make them mine." he replied, his eyes moving onto my son.  
  
"Don't you touch my son!" My order brought his eyes to mine. He smiled and took another step forward.  
  
"Are you going to stop me, Nada?" His voice was playful. He was just joking, but I hated him for that. He could never take me seriously.  
  
"You know I can't," I cried out as Madrina put my son in his crib, then quickly snatched my daughter and placed her in her own. Then she stood in front of the two cribs. Jager was smart enough not to injure Madrina. She was the Immortal Mother. If he injured her, he would be hunted down until the day that the world was destroyed. There was no way that he would survive a year. All of her descendants would retaliate. And of course the Triste would find their way into it.  
  
"Let me name your daughter," he ordered as he took a step toward me. Why was he asking me this? She was MY daughter and HE would not name her.  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Actually, no."  
  
"Fine." He barely looked at me before he disappeared and appeared right next to the cribs. I screamed in surprise. What he did next caught my breath in my throat. He cut his own finger and smeared his blood on my daughter's head. "She is bonded to me more than she is to you."  
  
"Liar!" I sat up a bit too fast and I clutched my head. "She was MINE before you damned HER."  
  
"Yes, but do you think after drawing all of that blood from her brother, all of that evil and darkness out of him, she would still belong to you by blood?" He laughed as he picked her up into his arms. For the first time in two years, I saw love in his gaze. I was frozen to my spot for two reasons. One, he had her in his arms. And two, he was right. Did I really thing that she was mine? After all she did for her brother, saving him from the dark, after taking in Jager's blood? No. She could not be mine by blood. But she was mine by soul.  
  
"She belongs to me by body and soul," I whispered nervously, my hands trembling.  
  
"Body and mind mean nothing here. Not in New Mayhem." Jager's movements were just a bit uneasy, as if he was uncomfortable but refusing to show it. Casually, he stepped away from the two cribs.  
  
I felt tears stinging my eyes. I tried not to let him get the enjoyment of my pain. Just as I was about to give in, Loreena stepped in.  
  
"You are a fool to try to part a mother with her child as soon as it came into this world. Even if it is YOUR by blood, she was the one who carried her and her brother for two months of Midnight and another seven here. Rarely any humans to speak with . No matter if she is yours by blood, you are foolish and stupid to try to part a mother with her new born offspring." Each word was said with venom, making Jager surprisingly flinch several times. "Now get out leech or I will make sure you find a Vida knife dangerously close to your heart."  
  
I knew that Jager hated being threatened, but he set down my daughter nonetheless. And he was gone the next moment.  
  
"Thank you Loreena," I gasped as I laid back down. I was still very weak from birthing two children.  
  
"Answer our question," Madrina told me as she stroked my son's cheek. I was caught off guard for a moment. "The name of your daughter."  
  
"Oh," I thought for a moment. There had been a name I had thought of in my time in the basement of Midnight. It was an odd name, a name I had made up myself. "Jeindoala." I smiled as I peeked over the crib side. "Jeindoala De Fiaro." I had learned of the death of my Savior, Jaguar. Eric had killed him. Or had he? That was still a major point of despute. And Eric was Korbin now, not that I minded.  
  
"Beautiful," the two witches whispered in unison.  
  
"Light, and Dark," Loreena whispered.  
  
"Brother and Sister," Madrina added.  
  
"A new chapter begins," they said together.  
  
Deep down inside, I knew they were right. Nothing could ever be normal again, but I had a feeling that things would attempt to. Also, I knew that my son would not be safe in Midnight or New Mayhem. He was an outcast in both worlds. Too light for his own good. And my daughter, I had to get Jeindoala out of here as fast as I could.  
  
"A new chapter begins," I finally whispered.  
  
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Thats the end of Disturbed Awakenings! Please review. I will have Author's Note posted in a few days.  
  
Krikoris 


	31. Author's and Character Notes

I need to thank those who reviewed this story from the bottom of my heart. Underneath this are small notations the characters would like to say to the reviewers who have reviewed.  
  
Jager- *smirks as he looks into the camera* I know I have come across as a jerk in this fic, but I really am not. I am just a simple *winces at smack from Krikoris* I mean complex character who is just trying to stay with the human he fell in love with. *smacked* Yes, Krikoris, I know! *growls* Anyway, so what if I am selfish and rude? Vampires are the way we are just because we can. Now, onto Nada.  
  
Nada- *waves* This has been an extremely exciting time of my life, and I really love it how you all were there to see me through it. True, my children are now in grave danger, but my love shall come and save us all. My darling Korbin....I miss him greatly. I can't wait until he meets his children. *sighs* Jager is such a jerk *casts him a glare*. No matter. I am proud to announce that there WILL be a sequel to this story, and I hope you will enjoy it. Aubrey is next.  
  
Aubrey- I don't know why I have to be here, I am not even in this story much *ducks from Krikoris's smack* Alright woman! I'm getting there! *rolls eyes* I had hoped that Lucia would have drank my drink, maybe then I wouldn't be stuck with....*smacked* Ok ok I won't give it away! I don't care much for any one in this story, except for maybe...no. Just get this camera away from me. Wait! Megan, *sexy smile* I think your sexy, and I want you. Screw Jessica, come over here right now you tiger....  
  
Lucia- *moves camera so it is now on her* If you insist Aubrey dear *ignores growl* I might not have played a huge role in this story, but I loved being here with my best friend Nada. My uncle is dead, I am still grieving over that, but now I have a neice and a nephew to save. Not to mention their parents from the pits of depression and damnation they have casted themselves into. I have lost and yet gained so many things in the past two years, and I am glad to see that others know my feelings. Adrian *slight blush* is on next.  
  
Adrian- Thank you Lucia. *smiles* As most have you noticed, I have changed dramatically during Disturbed Awakenings, and I must say it was for the best. Before, I was selfish and had let Katama's evil lurk within my soul. But after I had taken Nada from her home and threw her into Midnight, my life has changed alot. Korbin I had taken under my wing and now he is like a brother. Speaking of Korbin, he is next. *gives out little pecks on the cheeks to all the girl reviewers*  
  
Korbin- *sighs, running his fingers through his hair* Adrian and I are going to execute our plan in a few days, wish us luck. On other news, I hope I am the one to ram my fist through Jager's chest cavity and pull out his heart. *smirks at the sound of Jager's growl.* (A/N: I think it was a bad idea to have all of the characters in the same room.....) I can't wait until the sequel comes out. It is going to be set in the year 2023 I think, I'm not positive. Oh well, onto...uh, whoever is next.  
  
Blaze- Woooooo *waves at all the reviewers* I came back from the dead just to talk to you all. I really do love Avalon, now known as Nada. She was like the mother I lost. I wuv you allll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Flare- Urgh. I have to do this? *smacked* Fine, Keila, whatever you say. I was glad that I took care of Dieta. I did kill her. But who knows? You might see her *ducks from smack* Damn it Krikoris! Quit being such a....*smacked* Sorry. Anyway, read my story Recollected Humanity. Keila is working on it. (A/N: Keila is my muse, just so you know) Second chapter in the works.  
  
Turquoise- I really wanna go to a bash, but Nathaniel won't let me. I am just glad that Kairbre helped us kill that bitch of a vampire. (A/N: Spoiler!!) I felt bad that Jesse Fontes failed a few years back. Oh well. Back to Krikoris  
  
Krikoris- Yep, I am here again. If anyone wants to get the first chapter of the sequel, email me or request for it in a review. Thank you for your time and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  
  
Krikoris & Keila Kriticos 


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